The Rise of a New King
by Ashura Satoshi
Summary: Ash had a hard time growing up, but what will happen when he finds out he's forbidden from ever seeing the Princess of Hoenn? How will this change things if he's already fallen for her? What dangerous events and people will come into their lives just to stop them from ever being together? Read on to find out. Advanceshipping. SatoHaru AaMayL AshxMay
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N) Hello readers. You are now reading my most recent story: "The Rise of a New King" I hope you all enjoy it. Read and Review!**

* * *

Chapter 1: Revelations of the Past

* * *

High into the skies, there was a young man, about 17 years of age on the back of a Charizard. This was Ash Ketchum, the prince of Kanto.

Ash had his usual dark, spiky, raven hair and chocolate auburn eyes that carried too many emotions to count. Not to forget his enthusiastic attitude and endless supply of perseverance he always carried. Nonetheless, he was everything you could expect in a prince. However, he wasn't arrogant unlike some of the others might be. Although he was very good looking, he was quite humble and kind.

So here he was now… now wearing a shiny silver knight's armor, with his helmet up and a long sword strapped to his hip and a bow and arrow over his shoulder.

The reason he wore this armor more often rather than a tunic a normal prince would wear, was because he preferred to have the extra protection in case he got caught into an unfriendly battle with other knights and besides…he felt a lot safer with it on.

Right now, Ash was on his normal morning ride on the back of his Charizard. Charizard was his strong fire flying dragon and also his longtime reliable companion. He had known him ever since he was a Charmander in an egg.

The prince often took rides like this since it was soothing to feel the cool winds rush past his face and it was also his personal space, where he could gather his thoughts and think of his past. Ash's past had not been the brightest like most others and he would often grieve about what happened. Ash shut his eyes and thought about the past events. Even though he hadn't even been born to witness it, he still pictured the scene.

* * *

**(Flashback)**

Long ago, Ash had his mother and father, also known as the king and queen of Kanto. Delia and Giovanni Ketchum.

…Giovanni, having ruled the kingdom since he was Ash's age, was the greatest of the Kings of the 3 kingdoms. He was known for his bravery, courage, and ability to lead his kingdom and become successful. The 3 Kingdoms were Johto, Hoenn, and Kanto.

But ever since the birth of these kingdoms, Johto and Kanto had been major rivals. Each kingdom trying to do greater deeds and prove itself to be the more successful kingdom.

And this was when all hell broke loose for Kanto and Johto. The two had been at war. Both kingdoms had broken into a disagreement over the princess of Hoenn. The King of Johto, Alexander had wished for his son, Drew to be wed to May, while Giovanni wished the same, only wish his son, Ash to be wed to her. The two had argued for a long while, until Alexander called for an attack on Kanto.

Giovanni and his kingdom had been ambushed, so he had very little time to prepare. He had done his best to fight back, but it was just too much for the king. His army was slowly dying and he had rushed into the battlefield in an attempt to stop a majority of the Johto army. Giovanni quickly drew his long sword and swung it skillfully killing several knights in the process. That was when he had been killed. Being at a great distance, Alexander had withdrew his longbow and shot an arrow straight to the king's head, dropping him to the ground. Giovanni slowly started to rise to his feet, but it was too late. Alexander had thrust his sword into Giovanni's abdomen and he was killed right before Delia's eyes. Delia had stood frozen with a terrified expression on her delicate face. Tears quickly started streaming down her face as she watched her husband fall to his knees and face plant into the hard ground being surrounded in a puddle of blood.

She had been pregnant with Giovanni's child, but him being killed…The child would never meet his father. She was quickly guided into a carriage, where her and several knights had fled. Delia turned back and watched as more of the Johto army destroyed more and more of the precious kingdom. "…Giovanni."

It had been a long trip for Delia, her unborn child and the several knights that escorted her. They had finally come to a safe location after many long hours of riding in the small carriage, where they settled. In this place, they grew a new kingdom in an attempt to be hidden from Johto.

A few months later and Giovanni's son had been born. Delia had named him Ash Ketchum, who was destined to be the new king of the new kingdom. Growing up, Ash had a hard life. He never had a fatherly figure to look up to. Delia had been the only one to raise him aside from her assistants and close friends. As Ash grew to about the age of 10, Delia had arranged a treaty between the new kingdom and Johto. This was a very risky act to attempt, but Delia had wished for complete safety for her son, so she was willing to take the consequences. A few days in time, a response had been sent back to the kingdom. The king of Johto had agreed to their treaty, but only had one exception. That exception was for Ash to be forbidden from talking or even seeing the princess of Hoenn and that his son would be the one to marry her. If Ash were to ever contact May, he would be killed and their kingdom would be overthrown. Delia was grateful for their acceptance, but also couldn't help but feel disappointed. She had been disappointed that her son couldn't rule the kingdom with a queen alongside of him and have the happiness of becoming married. A tear escaped the corner of her eye and she wrote back:

_Dear King of Johto and kingdom,_

_It is an honor to us that you have accepted our treaty. We will promise to keep my son away from the Princess of Hoenn and allow your son to marry her instead. This treaty shall be official once it reaches you. Any further questions, please write back._

_Delia Ketchum, Queen of Kanto._

* * *

The rest of the day went by normally and the king had just received the letter. He eagerly took it from the messenger and quickly unwrapped the envelope and read. Once his eyes had finished scanning through the letter he couldn't help but grin. "Drew! Come here! I've got something to tell you!"

"What is it father?" The King's son had just walked into his father's room, which was guarded by two knights. Drew LaRousse was the prince of Johto. However, he was much different than Ash. The main difference was his ego. Drew was most likely the most arrogant boy in the kingdom and his ego was the size of a watermelon. Not only was his pride high, but he wasn't the kindest. He constantly ordered his servants around and he never treated his people the right way. He had light, bushy green hair, green eyes, about an inch or two shorter than Ash, and he wore a traditional Prince tunic. Something Ash never liked wearing.

"The Princess of Hoenn. You will be destined to be wed to her," Alexander declared.

"Miss Maple? My, she's something," Drew smirked.

"Very well, son. I will contact the king of Hoenn, so you too shall get to know each other better."

"Yes, father."

A few months back before Ash was born, Norman, the king of Hoenn and Alexander had made an agreement that Drew and May will become King and Queen of Johto and that as soon as they were old enough, they would start to get to know one another better and start "dating." The reason for Norman's approval was because he had feared that if he declined, his kingdom would be put in danger.

"William!" Alexander shouted.

Just then, William, Alexander's messenger came into the King's room and bowed respectively.

"Your Majesty, how may I be of assistance?"

"William. I want you to send message to the king of Hoenn telling him I wish for Drew to visit his daughter in their kingdom, where my son and her will get to know each other."

William nodded. "Yes, your majesty, I shall leave right away then."

William quickly left the room and went on his way to Hoenn.

Drew and Alexander exchanged a quick smirk.

* * *

**(Flashback End)**

"Charizard, descend!" Ash commanded to his companion.

Charizard obeyed his master and slowly lowered itself on the ground, landing in front of the Kanto kingdom.

Ash and Charizard walked around the kingdom towards the castle and past the two knights guarding the entrance. "Wait here, Charizard. I'll be right back."

"Char!"

…

Ash slowly made his way into the castle and let out a deep breath.

The castle was smaller than the other two castles of the different regions, but it was still quite big and decent. It was surrounded in cobblestone walls and had a variety of rooms. There was the massive dining room, Delia's room, Ash's own room, the dungeon, and many more you could imagine.

Ash went into the dining room, where he found his mother sitting alone at the long table with her hands cupped around her face and elbows on the table.

"Mother? Is something troubling you?"

Delia broke from her train of thought and looked at Ash. She began to think of how much he had grown up over the years and how much of a rough time he had as a small child.

"Oh nothing Ash. I was just thinking about your father, Giovanni."

Ash nodded in understanding. "Something else on your mind?"

Delia nodded. "Yes." She said, holding back a tear.

Ash quickly took notice of this and embraced her into a tight hug. "Shh Shh Mom. It'll be alright. Now please tell me what's wrong," He looked at her with a serious, yet caring face.

"Your love life," She replied.

"My…love life?"

"Yes, son. About 7 years ago, when you were only at the age of ten…There was an agreement."

Ash, intrigued, pushed the matter forward. "What? What kind of agreement?"

"Before you were born, King Alexander and your father had argued about whether his son or you would be married to the Princess of Hoenn. This was the reason for your father's death as well as the destruction of the old Kanto kingdom. So now, King Alexander and King Norman have agreed to wed Drew and May once they've reached the appropriate age."

"And the legal marriage age…What is it?" Ash asked, curiously.

"The age you are now, honey. May and Drew are around that age too, so they could even be married now."

"But I haven't even met the Princess of Hoenn."

"I know that sweety, but I've hoped that you and her would get along. Hoenn is a very peaceful kingdom. Not much war happens over there."

"I understand."

"Oh Ash…I've wished that you would find the perfect girl, and May seemed she would be just the one."

"What a shame. I only hopped that I could've gotten to know her."

"And…there's something else."

Ash stopped talking and listened intently to what his mother had to say next.

"You and May…are forbidden to see each other."

"A…A what?"

"You see…we made a treaty with Johto that promised we would keep you away from the princess and that Alexander's son would marry her."

"Why would you do that?"

"I'm sorry, son. I wanted to ensure your safety and the treaty was the only logical way. They had accepted the treaty, but they had only one exception, which was to keep you away from the princess.

Ash nodded slowly. "I understand mom. Thank you for telling me this."

Delia in return gave a short, sad nod to her son.

* * *

**(Hoenn Kingdom)**

The message had just arrived and Norman had already begun to read the message he received from the messenger.

Norman nodded to himself. "Very well then. Scott, will you please go get May for me?"

Scott, Norman's assistant had obeyed his king's order. "Yes, your Majesty." And with that, he took off, in search for the girl.

Scott had searched the kingdom and finally stopped at the dining room, where he found two girls conversing. One of the girls was Dawn Berlitz, a 16 year old girl. She had light blue hair, sapphire eyes, and had worn a servant outfit. The outfit she had worn was a plain white and dark navy color. Across from her was the Princess, May Maple, a 17 year old girl. She had long silky brunette hair that reached her mid back as well as sapphire eyes, similar to Miss Berlitz. May wasn't like most princesses. She didn't like to be ordered around and was more of the casual type. Instead of a servant outfit like her friend, she wore a long sleeved, medieval style red dress. In conclusion, she was very beautiful.

"Miss, May?"

May looked up at Scott. "Yes?"

"Your father wishes to speak to you."

May turned to Dawn. "Well…we better go then."

May and Dawn got up from their seats and followed the servant.

"Hmm… I wonder what the King has to say," Dawn thought to herself.

Soon enough, the trio had arrived at the King's room.

"Your Majesty, I have brought your daughter," Scott bowed.

"Thank you Scott. You may take your leave now."

Scott gave another short bow and left the room.

"Father? You had something to speak to me of?"

"Indeed. You see, May. The prince of Johto will be coming to the kingdom in a few days' time and you two will get to know each other."

"But father! I'm not looking for that kind of relationship at this moment!" His daughter protested.

"Sorry to upset you, but you will be married to this young man, so I would advise you take a liking to him."

May pouted and put on a disappointed look. "Humph." And she ran out of the room.

"May!" Dawn shouted after the princess.

Norman sighed, knowing that he no choice and that she and LaRousse were destined to become King and Queen of Johto.

"May! What's the matter?" Dawn asked as she followed her to her room.

"My dad! He's forcing me into marrying a prince I haven't even seen yet!"

"You have to calm down," Dawn said, trying to reassure the young princess.

May took a deep breath and started to mature a bit over the whole thing. "You're right Dawn. I shouldn't judge someone, especially if I haven't even met them in person yet."

Dawn nodded. "Good. Who knows? Maybe you might even like him!"

May sent Dawn a glare, which ran a shiver down her back. "Don't even think of it. I'm still against the fact dad is forcing me to like someone. It should be on my own free will."

Dawn sighed. At least she was somewhat getting to May's attitude.

* * *

Norman let out a heavy sigh as he sat in his chair when his wife, Caroline walked up to him. Caroline was a mid-aged woman, ruling the kingdom with Norman at a young age. She had a somewhat close resemblance to her daughter and was also very beautiful.

"What's the matter, honey?"

"May. She didn't take news of the Prince of Johto coming to the kingdom very well.

Caroline seemed to understand what her husband felt. "Don't worry. I'm sure she will warm up to him eventually."

"I can only hope so, Caroline."

His wife gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "When will the prince arrive?"

"In a few days."

"A few days? Well we should get things tidy around here then!"

Norman chuckled at his wife's antics, but agreed.

"Then, we'll have the servants set up the guest room right away."

* * *

…Meanwhile, May and Dawn were continuing to talk in May's room…

"So May, if you weren't hoping to be wed to LaRousse, who would you wish to wed to instead?"

"Dawn!"

"Just answer the question!"

"Well…I don't know. I haven't met any boys that I've liked yet, so who knows?"

"How about Brandon?"

"Brandon and I are only good friends. He is a knight and I'm a princess. I don't think we were destined."

"How about the other Prince? Prince of Kanto."

"Hmm…I've never met him, but I've heard that he was handsome," She said, giggling to herself.

Dawn clasped her hands together and said in a girly manner. "Yeah! I've heard he was good looking, kind, and wise!"

"Hehe, I think that's enough Dawn. Do you want to get a quick bite to eat?"

"Oh you bet I would."

May giggled. Although Dawn wasn't a big eater such as herself, she still had a passion for tasty food.

* * *

The two had quickly made their way back to the dining room, where they would get something to eat.

Upon arrival, they were greeted by the chef, Peter.

"Your Highness. How may I serve you and your friend?"

Dawn cut in. "I would like one slice of apple pie please!"

"And I would like one full apple pie please!" May told the chef.

Peter laughed at the young girl's unusually large appetite. "Haha. Coming right up!"

As their food arrived, May quickly began digging away at the poor pie, quickly devoured by the scary girl's appetite. All the while, Dawn watched with an amused expression as she slowly ate her slice of pie.

"That was delicious," May said, wiping off the crumbs off of her face, while patting her belly.

Dawn sweatdropped. "How can you finish a whole pie? Nobody in this world could even come close to matching an appetite like you.

May rubbed the back of her head nervously. "I have no idea. I guess I just can eat more food than others."

Her friend shook her head and smiled. "Let's go. I'm sure your father would wish for us to help prepare."

"Sounds good."

And with nothing further to discuss, they left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Visit to Hoenn

* * *

The rest of that day had passed and it was now morning, but Ash hadn't slept too well that night. He had a nightmare about his father dying and the Kanto kingdom being burnt to crisps. He quickly rose from his bed, with his forehead drenched in cool sweat.

He wiped the sweat off his head with the back of his hand and threw on one of his tunics. Today, he had decided he was going to visit the Hoenn Kingdom since it was known to be very peaceful with very little war. But, he had to find his mother for her permission first.

He had begun his search for his mother, but was unable locate her. So…he decided to ask one of the servants instead.

"Excuse me, but do you know where my mother is?"

The servant bowed respectively. "Your Highness. She is currently in the dining room."

Ash gave a simple nod in thanks. "Thank you."

The raven haired boy quickly walked to the dining room where he found his mother eating some freshly picked fruit and white bread.

"Hello, mother," Ash greeted as he took a seat across from her.

"Good morning, Ash. Sleep well?"

Ash lied. He had to; otherwise he knew his mom would over worry. "Yes, mom, but I ask for permission to do something first."

Delia swallowed a piece of her bread. "Oh? And what will that be?"

"I want to take a short visit to Hoenn. It is very peaceful, so I wanted to see it for myself."

Delia seemed a bit hesitant, but responded. "Ok son. I grant you permission. When shall I expect your return?"

"I will be back in a few hours. Not long at all."

Delia slowly nodded her head. "Ok, Ash. But please be careful."

Ash grinned at his mother's overprotective behavior. "Of course. Nobody knows that I'm prince in the other kingdoms, so I should be fine," He said, taking her into a tight embrace.

Delia quickly kissed the side of her son's face. "Goodbye Ash."

Ash broke away from the hug.

"I'll be seeing you later, mother," He said, getting up from his seat and walking out of the castle.

As he stepped out of the castle, he called out for his companion. "Charizard!"

In an instant, the fire dragon flew straight to Ash, awaiting for his master's command.

"Charizard…We're going to Hoenn."

* * *

**(Hoenn Kingdom)**

May Maple was currently in her room sleeping peacefully. Her quiet slumber was abruptly disturbed as some of the bright rays of the sun pierced the curtains and hovered over her angelic face. She fluttered her eyes open and groggily got up from the bed. After she had gone through with her normal morning routine. Bathing, dressing into another dress, and then heading to her father.

"Mother…Father?" May said, gaining attention of both her parents.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Caroline spoke up.

Norman however, remained silent, waiting for what his daughter had to tell them.

"I'm going to be taking a walk around the kingdom with Dawn, alright?"

Norman and Caroline exchanged a glance to each other.

"Alright then. Be careful out there. In the meantime, we will be preparing the rooms for the Johto prince," said Norman.

May nodded and took her cue to leave.

"May!"

"Morning Dawn!"

The two girls hugged each other tightly. "Ready to go for our walk?"

Dawn smiled. "Of course. Let's go!"

The two walked side by side and left the castle to walk around the peaceful kingdom of Hoenn.

* * *

Meanwhile…Ash had been riding on Charizard for the past hour. The raven haired boy was looking at what was ahead, but was unable, since clouds had been fogging his vision. After a minute or two, the clouds started to slowly clear up, revealing a huge kingdom before him. Ash was surprised. Just by judging the kingdom's looks, he could tell that it was indeed very peaceful and humungous. Much larger than the Kanto kingdom for sure.

"Charizard, land here!"

Charizard began to lower itself and slowly landed into an open grassy field.

"Thank you for assisting me Charizard, but I'm afraid you cannot go in with me. The people of Hoenn would go berserk if they saw you, so I want you to stay here. You can fly into the skies, but just don't get caught," The prince lectured.

Charizard eagerly nodded his head, with a smile evident on his face.

The fire dragon then flew high into the skies to enjoy a nice morning fly.

Ash grinned to himself and walked over to the gates, which was built to guard the Hoenn kingdom from any intruders.

As he neared, a knight stopped him.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

"I'm from the Kanto kingdom. I mean no harm to Hoenn as I'm just here for a visit."

The knight nodded. "Very well."

The gate slowly opened allowing a wide entrance for Ash to step through.

After making his entrance, the gate slowly closed behind him making a loud creaking sound.

The boy looked around and saw many interesting things. There were food stands, shops, and anything else you would normally find in a kingdom. But what caught Ash's attention was a huge crowd forming a circle in the center of the kingdom. Ash tried to look at what was so intriguing to the audience, but to no avail. He stepped closer to the crowd and began to hear the distinct sounds of swords being clashed. Peeping through a gap in the crowd, he saw two knights fighting with swords. Apparently, people were betting on who the winner of the matches would be and most betted on one man in particular. This was Sir Thomas, a thirty year old man, known best for his skills of wielding a sword. One thing about Thomas though, was that he was arrogant. Not as arrogant as Drew LaRousse, but tended to be overconfident. He was wearing a standard knight's armor and a sword currently in his two hands swinging it at another knight skillfully.

With one more oblique strike to the helmet…Thomas had won again. Many cheers could be heard as Thomas withdrew his sword and took a bow to the audience.

The other knight had stood up and walked away in shame.

"Any others willing to duel me? Huh? Anyone?" Thomas called out.

Nobody said anything. Even if they were a fan of Thomas' sword skills, they had no guts to go head on head with him. Many had tried to beat him, but none had actually succeeded.

"I am."

Everyone who was huddled in the circle had turned to look back at the teen prince. A majority of the girls had drooled over his looks, while the men and boys all sent him amused looks. Even Thomas took a glance at the Kanto prince and scoffed. "You really expect me to face a kid? You'll just be wasting my time and yours."

"So? I'm still willing to fight you," Ash countered.

Thomas just shook his head. "Not worth my time. Now run along kid. You wouldn't want yourself slashed by my sword and run along to your mother, now would you?"

The crowd had watched intently at the conversation between the two.

Ash was starting to become annoyed with the knight's attitude, so he took the only route he could think of. Taunting him. "What's the matter? Afraid to fight a kid?"

Once the opportunity of a fight would occur, the audience began to cheer. "Fight! Fight! Fight Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Thomas shrugged his shoulders. "You asked for it kid."

Ash smirked and stepped on an opposite side to Thomas.

The two withdrew their swords from their hips and got into their own battle stances.

Thomas began to get cocky. "Your move."

With one swift movement, Ash sweeped Thomas off of his feet with the blade of his sword, catching him off guard.

Ash quickly stepped up to Thomas and pointed the tip of sword at his neck. "Weren't expecting that, were ya?"

Thomas growled. This wasn't any other opponent he had ever fought before.

* * *

Dawn and May had been in the Hoenn Kingdom browsing in the shops. For a while, they had been looking at different dresses and admiring the different types of beautiful jewelry.

"Hey Dawn? What do you think of this dress?" May asked her friend, holding up a dress against her slender figure.

"Oh, that's a pretty dress!"

May giggled. "Hee hee! I thought so too!"

Dawn was just about to show May another cute outfit she had found, until something caught her eye.

"Hey May? What do you think is going on over there?" She asked, pointing to a huge crowd of people.

May turned around and looked in the direction Dawn was gesturing to and sure enough…there was a crowd of people. May was also curious of what was going on. "Hmm…I have no idea. Shall we go check it out?"

"Yeah, let's go!"

May and Dawn quickly left the store and headed in the direction of the waves of people.

Like Ash, the two girls were blocked from seeing what had been happening, but heard faint noises of swords clashing and armor being hit.

The two girls pushed past a couple of people and got a clear view. In their sight were two men dueling. One they instantly recognized as Thomas, but the other young man they had never seen before.

May was instantly beginning to stare at the young raven haired boy, who was dodging sword strikes swiftly.

Dawn, however took notice of this and smirked.

From Thomas' prospective, this was one of the hardest fights that he's had in a while. The boy was too fast for him. Thomas was not a fast guy. Being well toned and carrying a heavier weight, he was able to land devastating blows, but speed…was just not his thing. He viciously started spinning his sword in all directions attempting to land a hit on Ash.

Ash dodged each strike by doing a combo of back handsprings, dodging each of them flawlessly.

After landing the last flip, Ash grabbed onto his sword and slashed it straight down at Thomas, who blocked it with an upper block. The two were pushing their swords in the opposite directions hoping for dominance. Ash took his time and kneed the knight in the stomach, causing him to release his sword and fall to his knees. The boy lowered the tip of the sword once again at the man's neck.

"Guess this is my win."

Thomas sighed; his ego had been totally shattered, losing to a kid. "Lad, I must admit that you are skillful at wielding the sword and I accept defeat."

Ash grinned and withdrew the sword into its sheath. As he did so, everyone clapped and cheered for the boy's victory against one of the most skillful knights in the Hoenn Kingdom. Being much younger than the man added just that more of a surprise to his victory, which made the audience even more excited.

In the middle of the crowd, May smiled at the raven haired boy around her age.

"May? Are you done staring at him?" Dawn teased her friend, tugging on her sleeve for her attention.

May quickly blushed. "Was I staring?"

Dawn nodded with a playful smirk. "Uh huh."

"Oh my… But he sure is handsome though," The princess thought to herself.

Dawn grabbed onto May's wrist. "Come on! Let's go meet the guy!"

May broke free from her grasp and began to blush, while rubbing her foot into the ground nervously. "Dawn! B-But!"

"What? Are you nervous to meet him?"

May nodded. "Yes I am a bit nervous."

Dawn laughed. "It will be alright. I promise!"

The princess was then helplessly dragged again by her friend. Each inch closer they got to the young boy, May's heart started to beat faster.

* * *

"So what's your name?" Thomas asked curiously.

"The name's Ash, yours?"

Thomas, completely oblivious that Ash was a prince continued the conversation. "Thomas."

Ash held out his hand for a handshake. "Pleasure to meet you, Thomas."

Thomas smirked and retuned the handshake. "The pleasure is all mine, Ash. But do tell me. How did you learn to fight like that? It was beyond remarkable if I were to say."

"Many years of training I guess. I've been taught by the finest of knights in my kingdom, so I suppose that was how I've learned," Ash shrugged.

Thomas opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the giggling coming from a group of 5 girls around Ash's age. Each of them were whispering things to each other, which Ash managed to hear some of the conversation like: "He's so handsome!" or "He'll become my future husband!"

The two guys glanced at the girls, who were once again giggling once Ash made eye contact with one of them.

"Eh, I see you're already quite the ladies' man here already!" Thomas roared with laughter.

Ash blushed in embarrassment, but it didn't help as two more girls began approaching them. One with long brunette hair and the other with blue hair. Ash did a double take as the girls were coming closer to him. One girl in particular made his heart drop. The brunette girl. She was the most beautiful being he had ever laid eyes upon!

Ash began to stare wide eyed at the princess who was approaching him, something Thomas took notice of and smirked.

"Hello! Allow us to introduce ourselves. I'm Dawn Berlitz and this is May Maple. We've came to recognize your remarkable skills as a swordsman," Dawn announced.

May just stood next to Dawn and looked towards the direction of the ground in shyness. Dawn gently nudged the princess forward.

"Oh! Excuse me, I'm May Maple!" She said, reaching her hand out for a handshake.

Ash blushed and shook hands with the girl. As their hands came in contact with each other, both felt a cold shiver run down their backs.

"Pleasure, I'm Ash Ketchum."

From behind, Ash could see another duel occurring. Right ahead of where he previously fought, there were two men shooting at each other with bows and arrows. Ash felt a surge of terror as he saw several arrows flying in the direction of the princess.

May seemed confused as to why Ash suddenly spaced out. "W-What are you looking at?"

She said no more as she was pushed out of the way.

She shut her eyes from the hard impact of the ground. After opening her eyes, she looked up and saw several arrows sticking out of Ash's body. She gasped. He had saved her. Thomas had an amused expression on his face, while Dawn was inwardly smirking.

Ash winced from the pain and shut one eye. "I'm ok."

May stood wide eyed. "Come on! Let us bring you to the castle! It's dangerous to leave those arrows lodged in your body!"

Ash refused to take the offer. "No it's alright. I'm sure I can manage without it."

"Nonsense come with us!" Dawn chimed in.

Ash paused for a minute. "Alright."

May turned to Thomas. "Sir Thomas, can you please take us to the castle?"

"Of course your Highness."

With that, they all began to hurry to the Hoenn castle.

"Is everything all set?" Norman asked one of his servants.

"Yes, your Majesty. The guest room is ready for the prince."

Norman nodded. "Thank you."

"Father! Father!"

The king looked up and saw a group of four. His daughter, Sir Thomas, Dawn, and someone he hadn't recognized. He was guessing he passed out since his eyes were closed shut. However, something about him seemed all too familiar.

As they got closer, Norman saw that the young boy had a total of 6 arrows lodged deep into his body. 2 in his leg, 3 in his abdomen, and 1 in his upper body.

"Oh my! What's happened?" Caroline asked worriedly. She ran up to the boy and began to examine him.

Norman continued to examine the boy himself…that was when his mouth dropped all the way to the cobblestone floor. This boy…he's the prince of Kanto.

* * *

After hours of being passed out from the excruciating pain, Ash's eyes fluttered open. He turned to his side and saw it was dark out. He gasped. He had been out much longer than he had intended to. His mother must be worried.

He quickly got out of bed when he felt a sharp pain. He looked down and saw he was shirtless with many bandages neatly wrapped around a number of wounds.

This was all so confusing for him. He hadn't remembered much since he awoke. The only thing that came up in his mind was that brunette girl. My…how beautiful she was. The boy had never seen anything as gorgeous as her. He stood frozen in place as he began to daydream…

"Ash?"

He looked up and saw it was Norman.

Ash was nervous; Norman had an emotionless face as he continued to look at Ash.

"Um…may I help you?"

"You're the Prince of Kanto..."

Ash was terrified. His mother had told him everything of his past. But what made him fear was the fact that he was caught with the Princess of Hoenn. Their relationship was strictly forbidden.

He gulped. "How did you know?"

"Your father. You have that same resemblance and besides…the tunic you had worn here is one only a prince would wear. I spoke with one of the gate patrol knights and they had said they let in a young boy from not around here, so I guessed you had to be from Kanto."

Ash sighed. "If it is your duty to kill me…then you may do so now."

Norman shook his head. "That's not what I came to speak to you about."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Then what else would you have to say?"

"I'm here to thank you for protecting my daughter."

The young prince was still very confused. "But what about my forbidden relationship with your daughter?"

"That was only an agreement between the Kanto and Johto kingdoms. You saved my daughter, which was a brave thing for you to do, so I am wishing for the agreement to be dropped, so you can protect her."

Ash nodded. "But wouldn't you think the Johto Kingdom would still unallow that?"

"I'm still not sure, that is why I've just sent a message to Johto telling them of the incident and if they could allow you to at least protect her."

"But why me? Certainly there are others better than I who can protect her?"

"No my boy. I see great potential in you, and my gut is telling me that you are worthy enough to protect her, so that is the reason I am choosing you for this."

"Wow…I don't know what to say."

Norman chuckled. "No need my boy. Please come down and join us for dinner. Our treat to you."

"Oh I would be honored your Majesty, but I'm afraid I have to turn down your offer. I'm late in returning to Kanto, so my mother must be dearly worried about me."

"I see…then I shall send a message to the queen of Kanto to notify her that you are in safe hands with us. Now come on. Join us for dinner." He smiled.

Ash returned the smile. "I'll be right there."

The two men walked to the dining room, while Norman supported Ash so he could stand. After a minutes' walk, they were greeted with the fresh aroma of all kinds of foods.

Upon arrival, they had seen the Maple family eating around a long rectangle shaped table. On that table were various types of food. Bread, fruits, meet, pies, and many more. Sitting at the table were Caroline, May, and Max Maple. In case you're wondering, Max is May's younger brother and the prince of Hoenn. He is currently a few years younger than May, so he still isn't old enough to rule the kingdom. The three family members looked up and saw Norman supporting Ash by allowing him to lean on his shoulder.

As they neared, Norman sat himself at the front of the table, whilst Ash sat directly across from May. He looked up at May and sent her a quick smile before looking away. May instantly turned red, looking down, while playing nervously with her dress.

Once everything around the table had been set, the family dug into the food.

* * *

**What did you all think of it? Leave a review and don't to forget follow/favorite because this is only the start of the story!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A Day with the Princess

* * *

While at the dinner table, none of the family members could eat in peace as they were interrupted with loud noises of gobbling and swallowing of food. As they turned their heads, they could see the princess eating her food at a record pace.

"May, please chew your food. We have a guest here," Said Caroline.

May looked up and saw everyone looking at her, but when she saw Ash, she instantly became embarrassed.

She looked down ashamed. "I'm sorry mother."

Ash smiled at how cute she looked while shoving food down her mouth. "It's no problem. After all I am only a guest."

Everyone gave him an appreciated nod, until Max cut in. "But my goodness. I bet she could eat more than 5 full grown men. Seriously."

After a fit of laughter from the family and death glares from May, everyone got stuck in a rather awkward silence.

Norman finally turned to Ash after swallowing a lump of his dinner.

"You know Ash. I'm sorry if you don't appreciate me bringing this topic up, but I wanted to say that your father was a great man. I've known him well…ever since I've ruled Hoenn. We were actually great friends back in the day."

Ash slowly nodded. "I wish I could've met him."

"I bet. If you ever want to visit the Hoenn kingdom again, you're always welcome to stay here, ok?"

"Thank you very much, your Majesty."

"Please Ash. Just call me Norman." He smiled.

"Norman it is."

The 5 finished up their dinner when Ash suddenly got up from the table.

"Where are you going Ash?" Caroline asked.

"I'm heading back to Kanto. My mother is waiting for me there."

Caroline turned to Norman.

"I already sent a message to his mother saying he'll be there right after he finishes up for dinner at our place." The king answered.

"Alright. Thanks again for everything, Ash."

Ash smiled. "It's not a problem."

The boy slowly got up from his seat and started walking out of the castle.

Norman continued to stare in the direction the boy left and thought quietly to himself. "That boy will do many great things when he's crowned a king…just like in the footsteps of his father."

* * *

Ash looked around once he stepped out of the drawbridge. He brought his index finger and thumb to his mouth and wolf whistled.

On cue, Charizard swooped down and lowered itself for Ash to climb on. Ash did so when he heard a sweet, angelic voice.

"Wait!"

The Kanto prince looked back and saw the princess running towards him.

"Hmm? May?"

"Yeah…your Ash right? Prince of Kanto?"

"That's me. I'm guessing you're the Princess of Hoenn," He joked.

May rolled her eyes playfully. "Is that dragon yours?"

"Yep. My companion and best friend," He answered, petting Charizard's head.

Charizard let out a loud content coo, in which May and Ash responded with a laugh.

"So what do you have planned for the next few days?" Ash asked, curiously.

"Well…the prince of Johto is coming over to the kingdom in a day or two. But other than that, I have nothing else planned for now."

Ash noticed a frown starting to make its place on her face as she said that. "Is something wrong? You seem to be annoyed about something."

"Well…it's just that my father is forcing me to marry this prince against my free will. So I guess it's safe to say you're right. I am a bit angry," She laughed.

Ash felt a jealous feeling shoot up his body, but brushed it off. "You know, I may be your official guardian, so if the king Alexander approves of it, then we could do whatever it is you want."

May smiled. "Thank you. That sounds good."

He smiled back and tightened his grip on Charizard. "Well, I better get going. Wouldn't want to worry my mother."

"Oh alright, but Ash?"

"Huh?"

"I wanted to thank you for saving me earlier." And with that, she moved in closer to Ash's face and placed a tender kiss on his cheek.

Ash blushed. "N-Not a problem…I'll be seeing you later Miss Maple."

May sighed. "Goodbye Ash."

The two parted ways. Ash was on the back of Charizard, flying back to the Kanto Kingdom. At this moment, May stood in her exact place, looking up and at the boy slowly disappearing into the distance. Her right hand over her heart.

* * *

For over an hour of flying, Ash had finally arrived back in his hometown.

He jumped off of Charizard's back and petted the top of his head softly. "Thank you Charizard."

"Char!" The fire dragon said before dashing off into the skies.

Ash started to run through the kingdom and into the castle, not wanting to worry his mother more than she probably already was. Knowing her, she probably sent the whole kingdom to search for him.

"Mother! I'm home!"

He was then greeted with his beloved mother, who starting running, eager to see her little baby boy. "Ash!"

The two hugged tightly until Ash broke away from the embrace. "Were you worried about me?"

"Oh, yes Ash. But do tell me. How did your dinner date go?" She asked the embarrassed boy with a smirk.

"It went well. Norman wants me to be his daughter's guardian."

Delia clasped her hands. "Is that so? You two can get to know each other better that way!"

Ash blushed. "Mom!"

"I'm sorry sweety… Oh my! Look at how dark it's getting! You should get to bed, it's getting late."

"Ok mom."

Ash hurriedly made his way to his room, while Delia went to hers. As Ash stepped into his room, he crawled under the covers of his bed and began to think about the princess of Hoenn, before slowly falling asleep.

* * *

Morning soon arrived for the young prince as he groggily opened his eyes. Today he was going to go back to Hoenn. Again, he had to get permission from his mother first. He walked over to his mother's room where she was still sleeping.

"Mother. Mother. Mother!" Ash said, shaking her to wake up.

After the third try of calling her name, she had finally woke up.

"Ash? What do you want?"

"Sorry for waking you. But I came to ask if I could go back to Hoenn."

"Of course, honey. When will you be back?"

"Just for the day. I might be longer, but I'll make sure to notify you before I return."

Delia nodded. "Just be careful, ok Ash?"

"I know the drill, mother," Ash smirked.

She smiled at him. "Bye, Ash."

Ash left his mom's bedroom and headed out of the castle. Being at an open spot, Ash wolf whistled. Charizard soon enough flew and lowered itself for Ash to hop on. After he did so, "Charizard, take us to Hoenn!" And with that, they took off.

* * *

The two flew and flew high into the air for another hour or so before landing in the same clearing. "Alright, I'll be seeing you later Charizard."

Charizard grinned to his master and flew away once again "Char!"

After making his way to the gates he was greeted with the same two guard knights.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

"I am Ash Ketchum. Prince of Kanto."

"Ah. The king has told us about you. Come right in."

After walking through the gates he couldn't help but notice a huge sign hanging by a food stand that said: "Grand Ball Festival."

Ash's thoughts drifted to the brunette girl and how he would ask her to the dance. Then, he remembered about her and the prince would be getting wed, so they would probably dance instead.

He frowned and walked to the castle.

Once he was inside the castle, he was instantaneously greeted. "Ash!"

He looked up and saw it was the princess.

"May!"

Ash was shocked as the princess ran over and hugged his waist tightly not wanting to let go.

"Um…May? You're kinda squeezing me too hard."

May blushed as she quickly let go of the prince. "Oh! I'm so sorry."

Ash smiled. "No problem. Did you find out if I'm your official guardian?"

"Sadly, I didn't, but I'm sure my father will tell us now!"

"Alright! Let's go!"

The two teens walked to Norman's room together. Both of them stealing quick glances to each other and then blushing.

Once they came, Norman had the biggest grin on his face, something that made Ash very curious.

"Norman, what's the matter?"

"You. The King of Johto approves of you being my daughter's guardian, but forbids you from getting together or sharing any form of deep intimacy."

May and Ash turned bright red.

"Haha. Well you're off the hook, Ash, but you heard the exception."

Ash nodded. "I did. I promise I'll look after May, Norman."

"That's good Ash. You should know that I'm trusting you with her life."

"Oh, father?"

"Yes May?"

"Can Ash and I go look around the kingdom? He hasn't got the chance to enjoy the peacefulness here yet."

Norman laughed at his daughter's outgoing attitude. "Of course May. You two have fun, but do NOT forget about the forbidden relationship. Who knows what the people of Johto, especially King Alexander would do."

The two both nodded. "We understand."

* * *

"So Ash. What do you think of this dress?"

Ash, would've normally hated to shop, but doing it with May…he didn't mind at all.

"You look nice, May." He said with a sweet grin.

This was something which May instantly turned red. "Thanks Ash."

"Hey May?"

"Huh? Yeah?"

"Have you heard of the Grand Ball Festival? It's in a couple of days."

"No duh silly. Otherwise I wouldn't be shopping for a dress," She playfully said sticking her tongue out.

"Oops. You are the princess, so I should've known that you practically hear about everything that goes on in the kingdom."

May giggled. "Aren't you going to the Ball Ash? You should look for something if you're going too."

"Yes, I will be going, but I can't find anything that will go good with me."

"Hmm…I'll help you look!"

May began to search each isle of clothing, looking for something that would look good on Ash. Finally she came across one tunic. This tunic was a lot similar to the one Sir Aaron wore, the legend. It was a darkish blue with arm length gloves and boots that were the same color. On the back of the tunic was a long black cape that almost reached the floor. The outfit also came with a pointy ended hat that was also dark blue and black to the brim. One the center of it was a bright yellow eagle eye.

"How about this one?"

Ash closely examined the outfit and smiled. "That looks great! I'll take it."

May handed the outfit to Ash. "Awesome!"

The two went over to purchase the clothing they bought. May with a plain white dress with a long pink and red skirt. On the sides of the shoulders were pink ribbons and on the back of the dress was a Beautifly. May was just about to pay for her dress when Ash stopped her.

"No, May. Allow me to buy it for you."

"Aww…come on Ash, you don't need to play the gentlemen role. You are just my guardian after all."

"It's no problem. I insist."

She smiled. "Thank you Ashy! That is really sweet of you!"

Ash blushed as he handed the clerk the money. "Ashy?"

"Yeah. It's my nickname for you. Don't you like it?"

"Sure. It sounds nice I guess," He chuckled.

"Haha. Come on let's go!" May dragged Ash out of the store. As Ash caught one last glance at the clerk. He could've sworn that he just saw her wink at him.

* * *

The two enjoyed their day together. Walking around the kingdom, shopping, eating different kinds of foods, and just enjoying each other's company. Right now, they were sitting down in a calm peaceful field filled with grass. They were having a picnic.

"May?"

May just swallowed a gulp of her apple juice. "Yes?"

"Who are you going to dance with at the Ball?"

She tilted her head. "Why you ask?"

"I don't know myself. Just wondering."

May seemed to ponder about it for a moment. "I'm not sure. I haven't been asked to go with anyone yet, but I'll probably be going with the Prince of Johto."

"Oh…that's right."

May nodded. "So what about you? Are you going with anyone?"

"I haven't been asked either, but I'm sure I would just dance with someone else there."

The princess suddenly felt a leap of jealousy run down her body. "Oh I see…"

The prince and princess just sat there quietly, quickly finishing up their lunch. That was when they noticed the sun starting to slowly set over the horizon.

May looked at the sunset. "It sure is beautiful, ain't it?"

"Yeah…it sure is," Ash said, looking in the direction of May.

May was oblivious to Ash's staring, but picked up the picnic basket. "I think we should head back. It will get dark soon.

Ash agreed. "I think so too."

Ash and May both looked at each other. Both lost into each other's eyes. Unbeknownst to what they were doing, they both slowly started to lean into each other. After being only a couple of inches from each other's lips, Ash quickly backed away. "Come on. We better go."

May sighed, but knew he was right. It was a risky thing to do. Kissing right out in the open, as much as she wanted to, but she'd be too afraid of what Ash would think if she actually kissed him.

The two got up and started walking towards the Hoenn Kingdom with May slightly dragging behind Ash. Both of the teens were walking in silence, neither knowing what to say.

They were getting closer to the kingdom, but a sudden sound made Ash freeze. It was the sound of the picnic basket hitting the ground followed by screams.

"Ash help!"

The cry was soon muffled, by what looked like a pair of hands.

"May!"

He turned back and saw a man holding May with an arm around her neck and his hand over her mouth to block any screams that came from the young girl.

"Let her go now!"

The man just chuckled. "No way kid. There's three of us and only one of you, so let the common sense sink into your mind and run along, while this here pretty lady is going to die a slow painful death."

"But…I only see you."

As if on cue, two other men stepped out of their hiding places and revealed themselves. All of them were wearing black attire, so it was difficult to see who they were in the dark.

Ash put his hands up as if to indicate he had surrendered.

The main man chuckled. "Foolish boy. Kill him."

He gestured for the two goons to charge at the boy. Both nodded to the main man and withdrew their swords, running at Ash.

Ash took out his bow and arrow and quickly shot an arrow at the man taking May hostage. He hit the guy in the leg, causing him to release the girl. Right after his arms loosened, May pushed him away and ran behind Ash. As the two goons neared, Ash reloaded another arrow and shot it at one of the goons, who fell upon the impact. As the other man charging at him came close, he swung his sword with all of his power, but had missed and hit a tree. As the man helplessly tried to release his sword from the bark, Ash hit the guy square in the face with the end of his bow. As the man was falling backwards, Ash kicked the back of his body causing him to fall in the opposite direction and colliding with the tree.

As the last and main goon charged up at Ash, the two engaged in a fight. The goon slashed his sword down on Ash, who barely managed to dodge it, leaving a nasty cut on his shoulder. Ash winced from the pain, but got back up and hit the man in the back of the head with his bow. As the man abruptly fell to his knees, Ash kneed him in the face, knocking him out cold. There, all 3 of the attackers lay on the floor, unconscious.

Ash placed one hand on May's wrist with the other on his wounded shoulder. "Let's go."

May looked at him worriedly, but knew that he would be ok once they got back to the castle.

* * *

"Mother! Father!" May shouted.

Her shouts were enough to catch her parent's attention. Both of them ran to where the two kids were and swamped them each with questions. "What happened?" "Ash are you okay?"

"We're fine. We just got attacked by a small group of bandits," Ash answered the worried parents.

"My goodness! Look at the cut on your shoulder! Let's get you to a room," Caroline said as she led Ash.

Norman turned to his daughter. "Did Ash protect you from these bandits?"

"Yes father."

The Hoenn King thought to himself. "Good. I'm glad to know that I did the right thing trusting him."

"Just lay down here. We'll be right back to bandage up your shoulder."

"Thank you a bunch Miss Maple."

"Not a problem. It's the least we could do in return for protecting our daughter. She is the most important thing to us aside from Max," She giggled.

Ash just smiled and she left the room.

A couple of minutes later and May had walked into Ash's room with a first aid in her hands.

"Oh? Hello May, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to bandage up your cut."

"Oh…ok. So… should I take off my shirt?"

May blushed. "Y-Yeah."

He slowly took off his shirt and revealed his well-toned chest and a visible, but not complete six pack.

This turned May even redder and nervous. After admiring his well-built muscles for a short while, she took out a bandage and slowly started to wrap it around his cut.

Ash shivered as May's delicate fingers slowly brushed against his body.

"…Ok done!"

He took a moment to look at the neatly wrapped bandage around his shoulder. "It feels better already. Thanks May!"

"No problem!"

"May."

Ash and May both looked back and saw Norman, Caroline, and Max. Each of the princess' family members.

"What is it?"

"King Alexander just notified us that the Prince will be arriving first thing tomorrow."

"Ugh. Alright…"

Fearing their daughter's wrath, her parents and little brother left. "You two should get your sleep. Wouldn't want to be in a deep slumber when the prince arrives."

May slightly nodded. "Yes, mother."

Everyone had left, so the only people left in Ash's room were him and May.

"Well…Ash. I'll be seeing you later."

"Yeah…see you in the morning."

Ash started to get surprised once he saw the princess move in closer to his face. At the last moment, May planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Bye,"

She left the room, but Ash failed to notice a blush creeping up on her face.

Ash let out a content sigh as he threw the blankets over his body and shut his eyes. Unexcited for the other prince's arrival tomorrow.

* * *

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**For a better look of what outfits the two purchased, just take a look at the cover image for this story.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Bow and The Sword

* * *

Morning came too soon for Ash and May as they were forced to wake up early to greet the Prince and King of Johto.

"May!"

May stirred in her sleep and once hearing her name being shouted, she groggily got up. "Yes mother?"

"You have to get up. The prince will be coming any minute now!"

May hurriedly got up and just as she was about to run…

"Hold it May! We must find you something nice to wear in front of the prince."

May had a look of disgust. "No way mother! I don't see what's not to like about casual wear."

"Maybelle…"

May groaned. She hated being called by her full name, but she had to throw on something nice. Instead of thinking about looking nice for the Johto prince…she thought of it as looking good for the Kanto Prince…

She got up and started to browse through her large wardrobe in search for something decent to wear. After messily tossing dresses left and right, she finally came across a long blue dress. "Is this fine?"

Caroline smiled. "Yes. I think that would look great on you. I'll be heading out, so I'll meet you outside of the castle."

"Yes mother…"

* * *

In the meantime, Ash had woke up himself. He stepped out of his bed and splashed some water on his face. After drying himself, he then dressed himself into his regular tunic, then leaving his room in search of the princess.

Right at this moment, he was standing by the princess' door. Once clearing his throat and fixing his tunic, he knocked several times on the door.

After a minute, the door suddenly began to turn open, revealing the princess. Ash took a moment to scan the girl that stood right in front of him, but as he did so…his mouth slammed to the ground. My! She looked so beautiful. She had her hair all the way down, slightly curled, the long blue dress that matched the tone of her eyes and the smile on her face made her look so dazzling.

"I-I…um…you…May…you look…handsome…I mean uh! Beautiful?" Ash stuttered, quickly blushing and turning his gaze from the princess.

May also couldn't help but blush too. She giggled quietly to herself of the boy's nervousness. "Thank you Ash. You look pretty good yourself."

"T-thank you. Let's go. Your parents are…um…waiting for us."

"Oh! Right. Let's go then…"

The two teens started to lightly jog out of the castle. Upon arrival, they were greeted with Max, Norman, and Caroline. They each turned their heads and saw the whole kingdom awaiting the arrival of the Prince. Although Ash and May were not too thrilled about seeing him, they were still curious of what he was like.

From a distance, they could suddenly see a chariot nearing the kingdom. Taking a closer look, there were 2 Rapidashes, each on harnesses that were lulling a huge tent looking dome. Each and everyone in the kingdom watched as the chariot neared and neared until it parked itself right in the middle of the Hoenn Kingdom.

Slowly, the doors on both sides of the tent-dome had opened. The man on the left was none other than King Alexander LaRousse, King of Johto. He had long dark blond hair, sea ocean eyes, and was very tall. He wore a traditional king attire that contained a long red cape, blue tunic, and a tall golden crown. The only weapon he carried along with him was a long sword strapped to his hip.

On the other side of the carriage, was Drew LaRousse. He had bushy green hair, green eyes, and his popular, arrogant smirk. He was wearing his prince tunic and had a sword; much shorter in length to his father's strapped to his hip and a bow and arrow over his shoulder like Ash Ketchum.

The two of them started walking past each of the civilians and occasionally waving and grinning. The civilians seemed rather thrilled upon their presence as they were clapping and cheering as they walked closer and closer to the Hoenn Castle. All in the while, the Maples ran to greet them.

"King Alexander! It's a pleasure to see you once again."

Alexander shook his hand to acknowledge his presence. "King Norman. This is my son. Drew LaRousse."

Norman looked behind Alexander and saw there was indeed a teen prince. "Drew. It's great to finally meet you."

The green haired prince flicked his hair. "Humph. It's nice to meet you too…Oh and who might this young lady be?" Drew asked, walking up to May.

May slightly backed away. "I'm May, princess of Hoenn." She reached out her hand for him to shake.

Instead of returning the handshake, Drew just took her hand and kissed it. This action made Ash slightly cringe.

In response, May just put on a fake smile and gestured for Drew to come into the castle. The two walked inside, leaving Ash standing there with the rest of the Maples and King Alexander.

Once King Alexander had shook hands with each of May's relatives, he turned to Ash with an unimpressed look on his face.

"And who might you be?"

"I'm Ash Ketchum. The prince of Kanto."

"Ah… The King has told me a lot about you. You're Miss May's guardian."

"That's right."

"Just stay away from her. You know my boy will be marrying her instead of you."

"No need to worry. Everything is understood," He nodded.

"Good. Well…it was pleasant to see you all again, but I must be going now," Alexander stated.

After everyone had exchanged a short goodbye with the King, he walked away to get back in the carriage. But before he departed, he turned to look back at Ash and slightly frowned. The carriage started to slowly disappear into the distance as everyone watches intently as the King left. Once he was completely out of site, everyone went along with their own business. This was when Caroline, Max, Norman, and Ash had decided to head back into the castle.

* * *

"Ok…so this right here will be your room," said May.

Drew flicked his hair and looked around the guest room. "A bit under decorated, don't you think?"

"No…our servants worked on this room the whole day, so wouldn't you be grateful for that?"

Drew just ignored her. "Maybe if you were to share that bed right over there with me…it wouldn't be so bad."

May was getting rather offended by his previous comment. "Excuse me?"

"Don't you know? We'll be getting married anyway…so?"

He couldn't finish as he was slapped hard in the face. "How dare you say something as inappropriate as that! You bloody pervert!"

May walked away, leaving Drew standing there with a smirk and one hand over his cheek.

"She wants me."

* * *

Right now, Ash had been wandering all over the castle, disappointed about one thing in particular.

"Stupid Drew LaRousse. He and May are probably having the best time of their lives right now."

He stopped right there as he could hear very remote cries. Ash just shrugged it off thinking it was just in his head…

There it goes again! Ash was beginning to become concerned, so he ran in the direction he heard the cries. He ran and ran and eventually found himself standing in front of the princess' room. He opened the door and behind it he found May sobbing miserably on her bed.

"May?"

May looked up and saw it was Ash. "…Ash."

"May. What's wrong?"

"Drew. He is the most ungrateful, arrogant, pervert I have ever met!"

Ash clenched his fist so hard his knuckles were popping out from his hand. He took a deep breath and sat down on the bed next to May.

What surprised May was what Ash did next. He wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed May close to him. May sobbed quietly into Ash's chest, letting all of her tears cascade down her face and soak into Ash's dark tunic.

After a few minutes, she had calmed down and sniffled a few times. "Thanks Ash."

Ash smiled to her. "Anything for you May. But tell me what Drew did."

"A little while ago…he had said the guest room was too "unpleasant" for his taste and then he made a very inappropriate comment."

Ash understood well enough, and decided not to push the topic any further. "I'm sorry that happened to you May."

"It's ok Ash…it's not your fault."

"I know, but I feel very worried for you. You're very important to me, you know." He said, wiping a tear from her cheek.

May looked up at him with innocent eyes. "I'm important to you?"

"Yes May. Very important…"

"Um…Guys?"

The two looked up and saw Max standing outside the room.

"What is it Max?"

"If you two are done, dad has called me to bring you guys to the dining room. We're having brunch."

Ash turned to May and grinned. "Come on. Let's go."

May returned a smile and nodded. "Okay."

* * *

Once the trio had reached the dining room, they had seen a huge feast beautifully layed out on the table. Norman sat at the front, while the other family members and Drew sat in their respective places.

Once Ash had sat down, May reached for a seat next to him, but was stopped by her father. "May? Why don't you sit next to Drew?"

May turn to her mother. "Mom! Do I really have to?"

"Maybelle! Please be polite to the guest!"

May cast a look at Drew and glumly pulled out a seat next to him. The sight of Drew just being near May made Ash incredibly jealous.

"Hehe. Maybelle," Drew whispered.

"Shut up," May muttered, crossing her arms.

The family and guest ate in silence…well except for Drew who was constantly trying to flirt with May by making poor compliments about her looks and trying to get her attention.

After the dreadful dinner had ended for poor May, she got up. "Mom. Dad."

This caught the two parent's attention. "Yes May?"

"Ash and I are going to go walk through the kingdom."

"That's fine May, but bring Drew along with you," said Norman.

May protested. "But dad!"

"No buts!"

May stomped her foot into the ground stubbornly. "Fine…"

Ash took a look at Drew and noticed a hidden smirk on his arrogant face. There was just something about him that made the boy absolutely disgusted by him.

"Come on Ash," May said, tugging at his hand.

Ash looked back and saw Drew frown a bit, while following closely behind.

* * *

Once reaching the outside of the castle…

Drew was very unpleasant to be around during this point. Just being with him made Ash completely understand why May didn't take a liking to him.

"Hmm…there's not a lot to do here. What could you two possibly do for fun?"

Ash growled. "Well…if you didn't happen to know, there are actually a lot of pleasant things to do here, right May?"

May spat at Drew. "Yeah, that's right! If you don't have anything good to say, then just keep it to yourself."

"Well if you insist there are fun things to do here, then why don't you show me around, huh?" Drew said to May, in a failed, yet flirty tone.

May was absolutely disgusted by his form of flirting.

"Cut it out Drew," said Ash.

Drew smirked. "Or what?"

"Or I'll beat you in a little competition. See those targets over there? A bow and arrow contest."

"Pfft. I don't face peasants like you."

"If you didn't happen to know, I'm actually the Prince of Kanto. Thank you very much."

"Humph. Fine. I accept your little "challenge," but remember you're making a big mistake doing this."

"I'm willing to take that risk."

The group walked over to the circular foam targets set up by the castle. As they lined up, many of the civilians wandering the kingdom had noticed the two princes and princess, so they decided to see what was going on.

Drew turned around a took a bow to the audience that had formed around them. "Greetings to all of you. I am Prince Drew LaRousse of Johto and I have accepted an archery challenge to this so called confident man over here." He said, gesturing to Ash.

Ash snarled and removed the bow from his shoulder, while Drew copied his actions. "Round One."

Drew pushed Ash aside. "Allow me."

Ash, May, and the audience had watched intently as Drew pulled an arrow into his bow. A few seconds of him aiming and he had finally let go of the string connected vertically from his weapon. After a low whoosh sound coming from the bow, and the arrow flying at great speed at the foam targets, the audience watched. A majority of them, mostly the men were betting on who would win. The Prince of Kanto or the one from Johto. Most had been betting on Ash after seeing how well he fought with a sword the other day, so they suspected he must've been talented with the bow as well.

After what seemed an eternity, the arrow finally lodged itself into the target. He got a Bulls eye. Drew turned around with the biggest grin on his face. "I'd like to see you beat that."

Ash smirked as he stepped in front of Drew and pulled an arrow back, releasing it a lot faster than the speed LaRousse had. Once his arrow had made its way into the target, the audience looked to see where he had hit.

...

Sure enough…he had gotten a Bulls eye too. "How was that Drew?"

Drew growled. "Pure luck."

"Here, how about we go for a second round. This time with a blindfold."

The audience cheered. They had longed to see an archery challenge, but with their line of vision blacked out? That was very entertaining! In the back, May had the biggest smile evident on her face. She liked to see Ash wipe the floor with Drew.

"Where are we going to get a blindfold?" Drew asked, in a desperate attempt to escape the situation.

Even though Drew had an arrogant shell, he was quite nervous about shooting an arrow with his eyes closed. Something Ash took note of.

"This," Ash said, removing a dark bandana from his pocket.

Drew squinted his face. "Are you joking? I'm not going to touch something that's belonged to you!"

"What are you afraid of? Catching my germs?" Ash scoffed.

Drew pouted. "Fine."

As the Kanto Prince was about to step up and take his turn first….

"Stop. I'll go. After all, better looks always go first."

Ash frowned at his last statement.

Drew took the piece of cloth from Ash's hands and picked up another arrow from his quiver. After tying the bandana around his head, he drew another arrow back into the string of his bow. Releasing the arrow, the Johto Prince hoped for the best. But before he got the chance to remove the bandana, he heard a fit of laughter and giggles coming from all around him. Eagerly ripping off the bandana, he had seen that he hit a piece of meat from the butcher's shop.

"Hey! You're gonna pay for that!"

"Ah bloody hell," Drew muttered.

Ash just chuckled along with May. "I guess it's my turn now."

"Oh be quiet. It's not like you could possibly do any better," Drew said throwing him the bandana.

Ash caught it skillfully and winked to May, before turning back to Drew. "We'll see about that."

Ash quickly tied the cloth around his head and then set up his bow and arrow for firing. He released the string rather quicker than the audience had expected and heard the impact of the arrow. Instead of hearing hard laughter and giggles like Drew had experienced, he had heard nothing but gasps and "wows."

Taking off the bandana slowly, he had seen that he hit the target square in the middle. Another Bulls Eye.

With large cheers and applauses from the crowds, Ash felt proud. He took a short bow before being tackled to the ground by a brown blur.

Opening his eyes, he saw none other than May cuddling into him on the ground. "Oh Ash! That was amazing!"

Ash immediately blushed in the position they were in. That was…until Drew coughed. "Excuse me, but we're not done yet."

Ash gently pushed May off of him making May slightly blush. "Whatcha mean?"

"I mean I challenge you to a sword wielding duel. Clearly you are more skillful at the bow than I am, but I'd like to see you beat me with a sword."

He smirked. "Alright. I accept your challenge."

Drew gave off his own smirk. "A challenge it is then."

The audience started to go into another round of excited cheers once seeing the two princes taking out their swords from their sheaths and stepping opposite from one another.

Each of the princes looked up and into each other's eyes before both nodding to each other. With one swift movement, Drew charged up at Ash striking down at him. Ash looked up and immediately brought his sword up to block the attack. After colliding swords, Drew went for a low sword attack, which Ash blocked again with the blade of his sword.

The two fought and fought, desperately trying to gain the advantage. Once LaRousse tried to sweep Ash off of his feet with his sword, Ash jumped avoiding the hit. While aerial, Ash did an oblique slash at Drew's chest cutting off some of his tunic's fabric.

The Johto Prince became furious. Surely he was angry for not being able to land more than a couple hits on Ash, but him ruining his clothing was enough. He began to viciously swing at Ash, which each blow was dodged by jumps or ducks. The second Ash found an opening; he kicked Drew in the chest knocking him to the ground. He put one foot on his chest and pointed the point of the sword at the boy's neck.

"Do you accept defeat?"

"No! I will not lose!" Drew shouted, kicking the blade away.

Ash gripped his sword with both hands and kept his distance from the enraged Prince.

"AH!"

After the umpteenth time, Drew charged like a wild dog at Ash.

Ash instead of charging remained calm, which surprised everyone in the crowd.

May began to grow worried "Ash! Move!"

And right at the last moment, Ash did a back turning kick right into his abdomen. The second Ash's foot came in contact with Drew's gut; he was knocked back onto the ground several feet back, with the wind knocked out of him.

"That was a cheap shot," Drew said, gasping for air.

Ash smirked and withdrew his sword. Whether LaRousse liked it or not, he had lost.

After catching his breath, Drew stood up. "You may beat me in the war of battles. But you come nowhere close to me in the war of love."

He walked over to May and held her hand.

May swiped her hand from Drew's grip and walked away with Ash. "Humph."

Drew smirked and began to follow the other two. "She wants me. I just know she does."

* * *

**That was the end of Chapter 4. Please drop in a review and follow/favorite. It really helps me out and encourages me to get the chapters out sooner :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I apologize for the small delay for this chapter. I've had a lot to do the other day, so I didn't get much chance to write. So...as an apology, here's a nice chapter for all you advanceshippers out there :) Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 5: One Dance couldn't Hurt

* * *

It was well into the evening and the trio had just gotten to the dining room for some supper.

May was once again forced to sit by Drew's side while Ash was sulking miserably about how it wouldn't be long before May and Drew started to "date."

In fact, everyone seemed to be in their own little trance, all except for Norman, who decided to break it from everyone.

"Have all of you asked someone to go with you to the Grand Ball Festival? It's tomorrow night, if you didn't know."

May and Ash shook their heads, but Drew interrupted the conversation rather abruptly. "Maybelle. Will you accompany me to the dance?"

If things couldn't get worse for the princess, Drew had just asked her to the dance. She knew she had to accept his offer, not matter how much she disliked him. Her parents would force her to until she gave in. But, she didn't want to go with the Johto Prince; she wanted to go with the raven haired boy…

"Drew…no…I mean…I would love to go with you," May gulped.

The family cheered. "That's great you guys! I'm so happy you two will be going together!"

May sighed and muttered. "Like I have a choice."

While everyone had been cheering, Ash gave a short sad smile to May.

…

"So Ash? Who will you be going with to the Ball?" Caroline asked the boy.

"I have no idea. I'd probably just ask one of the young ladies there," He answered.

"I see. Whatever you guys will be doing there, I'm sure you'll have fun."

Drew smirked "I assure you we will."

After the dining room had been cleaned up, everyone had left to go to their own rooms to hit the hay.

…

"Ash? Where are you going?" Norman asked. The king had noticed that he was walking directly towards the entrance of the castle, so decided to ask what was up with him.

Ash turned around and answered the king. "I'm heading back to Kanto, but I'll be back for the festival. My mother is expecting me home soon."

The king nodded and just to make sure... "I understand. So you'll be back for the Ball?"

"Yes, I will be there. I just have to let my mother know I'm alright."

Norman nodded and walked up to Ash. Catching the prince off guard, the king took him into an embrace.

"I can't thank you enough for saving my daughter. You know you're almost like a second son to me Ash?"

Ash slowly started to reciprocate the hug before saying, "I appreciate what you're saying to me Norman. I feel honored."

"You should be my boy. You certainly are an amazing person."

"Thank you, Norman. Now I'm really sorry I can't stay and chat, but I have to be leaving now."

"Oh, my apologies. I'll see you later then."

"Goodbye."

Even after saying farewell to the king, there was still someone he had to talk to. After standing right outside her door, he slowly opened it and stepped in. He was greeted with the sight of May lying peacefully on her bed wearing her long night gown.

"Ash? What's up?"

"I've got to leave now, but I'll be back in time for the Ball, okay?"

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Back to the Kanto Kingdom. My mother is expecting me soon."

"Alright then, Ash…I'll see you soon," she said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

Ash smiled. "That was a very risky thing to do."

"Yeah, but I'd be willing to take that risk," She coyly said.

"Haha, sorry but I gotta get going. Who knows what my mom would do to me if I were late."

"Ok, goodbye Ashy."

He turned bright red and headed out the room.

As soon as Ash stepped out, May lied down on her bed, allowing the warmth to engulf her body. "Why couldn't dad force me to marry someone like him?" She sighed, quietly slipping under the covers of her bed and falling into a deep slumber.

Once Ash stepped out onto the grassy fields, he and Charizard previously landed on, he wolf whistled.

Again, a large fire dragon swooped right down to Ash and lowered its head to allow Ash to climb on. After he stepped on, Charizard flapped its wings and headed to the Kanto Kingdom.

* * *

Soon enough, it was morning and May wasn't looking forward to today at all. With Ash not here all day, that would mean she'd be stuck with Drew. Even though he'd only arrived to the kingdom yesterday, she could already see his true personality. To her, he was nothing but a flirtatious, arrogant, uncaring, good for nothing grass head. And she could tell Ash didn't like him too much either, even if he did his best not to show it, she could read right through him like a picture book.

She groaned unhappily as she dragged herself out of bed to meet her family in the dining room. After removing her night wear, she put on another one of her dresses that stormed up her wardrobe.

* * *

Upon arrival, she saw her whole family including LaRousse. She already knew what would be the drill for this meal. She would be forced to sit next to the prince and then he would do everything he could to get her attention by using lousy pickup lines or poor flirting.

After sitting next to the prince, she ate her breakfast silently, doing her best to ignore Drew and her family from their conversing.

"Only hours until Ash comes back. Why couldn't time go any quicker?" She sighed.

The only thing better aside from Ash that could've happened today was what happened next. "I apologize your majesty, Miss May has a visitor."

Norman looked up from his meal. "Oh, well bring em' in."

Everyone looked up to see Dawn step into the room with the accompany of the knight who walked her in.

"Dawn!"

"May!"

The two ran at lightning speed to each other and tightly embraced one another.

"Where have you been?" May asked.

"Sorry for not visiting you any sooner, but I've been swamped by housework with my mother."

"Oh, not a problem Dawn! I have so much to talk to you about!" May exclaimed, dragging Dawn up to her room.

Everyone watched amusingly at the two girls ran upstairs.

* * *

As the two girls stepped into the room, Dawn swamped May with questions that were building up within her. "How is the Kanto Prince?" "What's the Johto prince like?" "Which one do you like better?"

"Slow down Dawn. Now start from the first question," She chuckled.

"How is the Kanto Prince?"

May slightly blushed. "Well…he's an amazing person. He's already saved me twice. He's kind, humble, strong, and nice to be around," She replied, twiddling her thumbs nervously.

Dawn smirked. "Sounds like someone here's got a crush."

May turned even redder. "Y-Yeah, I do like him very much."

Dawn went with her next question. "What about the Johto prince? What's he like?"

Dawn immediately noticed a huge frown take place on the princess's face as she asked that question she dreaded so so very much.

"Drew…He's the most horrid human being I've ever met! I can't believe my father is making me marry that son of a-"

"…May? What have you learned about swearing?"

She sighed. "It's very unladylike for a woman to swear."

"That's right. Now what were you saying?"

"My father is forcing me to marry him. I don't want my father to be disappointed but my heart belongs to the other prince."

Her friend nodded in understanding. "I understand. Too bad things didn't go the other way around for you."

"Yeah…."

"Hey what are you going to wear to the Grand Ball Festival tonight?" Dawn asked, attempting to change the subject.

"Oh! I've got to show you!" May dashed off, claiming the dress from the wardrobe.

Quickly after she retrieved the dress she purchased with Ash, she held it against her slim body. It was a mystery how she was able to stay so thin despite her huge appetite. "How does it look?"

"Wow May…I think that would look so pretty on you!"

The two girls squealed. "I know!"

"Hey Dawn? What are you going to wear?"

"Oh man. I've bought this nice dress, but I'm afraid I've left it at home."

"Aww…that's a shame. I'm sure it would look great on you no matter what."

"Thanks May," Dawn smiled.

* * *

"Hey mother? Do you think this tunic looks good on me? I'm wearing it to a dance in Hoenn tonight."

Like Dawn and May had been doing, Ash had been posing for his mother to see if he looked good in his tunic. It was unnecessary to be doing what he was doing right now, but he wanted to look nice for May.

"You would look very handsome honey. Why don't you try it on?"

"I wanted to wait until the Ball."

"I see…Did you ask May to go with you?" She teasingly asked.

"No…she's going with LaRousse," He finished with an upset look.

"Sorry son. Why don't you find someone else to dance with at the Ball then?" Delia suggested.

Ash nodded. "That's what I plan on doing."

"Good plan. Well I'm sorry, but I need important business to attend to as queen, alright son?"

"Alright. Oh and mother?"

Delia turned around. "Yes son?"

"Since I'm May's guardian, I'm most likely going to stay at the Hoenn Kingdom for a longer while after the Ball."

"Well it is your job…so I guess I'm fine with that. Just be careful," She said, again walking away.

"Wait mother! One more thing!"

"Oh? And what would that be?"

Ash blushed. "How do you ask a girl to dance?"

Delia shook her head and smiled in response. "Oh Ash…"

* * *

The long dreadful day had gone by slowly for the poor princess, but with the presence of Dawn, things seemed to cease up for her. Earlier, she had gone walking around the kingdom with Dawn and Drew. Drew was doing what you would always suspect, while May and Dawn rushed through all the shopping stores, which Drew waited patiently in.

With Ash, things went by smoothly for him as well. After going on his morning ride, and walking around the Kanto Kingdom, he was becoming quite relaxed. The only thing was that he longed to see the Princess' face once more; the one he's fallen deeply in love with, even if it's only been a less than a day since he's seen her, it still felt like an eternity.

"May! Are you ready for the Ball? Dawn and Drew are waiting for you!" Caroline shouted up the stairs.

"Almost ready!" May called back, taking last moments to fix her dress and put on some of her remaining makeup.

Afterwards, she rushed down the steps and was greeted by her friend and the Johto Prince. When she had looked at Dawn, she was now wearing a long blue dress with her hair straight down. She too wore some makeup, but not too much where it would make her look like a pale ghost. On the other hand, Drew was wearing a dark green tunic with his sword still fastened to his hip. His bow he had left in his room.

Drew walked up to May and wrapped one of his arms around her's. "My lady, shall we get going?"

May clenched her teeth and put on one of her fake smiles. "Yeah. Let's get going guys."

"Have fun you three!" The two parents shouted after the trio, watching as they disappeared in the distance and towards the Ball.

After about 10 minutes of walking, they had finally arrived at the Ball. The Ball was currently being held in a large building that looked like a castle, but far too small to be one.

The three walked into the building and admired how nice the inside looked. Inside, there were tables set up with food, a large tile floor where everyone danced, and a band that played the music for the couples to dance to. Needless to say, it was very packed. Almost everyone in the Hoenn Kingdom had shown up. Adults, teens, and even children were running around everywhere in the Ballroom. Since May's parents were the king and queen of the kingdom, they were very busy attending business, so they hadn't had the time to show up.

But there was one person in particular May was looking for. She turned her body in all directions, but couldn't catch sight of the boy she knew all too well. After her and her friends had gotten a quick snack to eat, the band began to play a fast party like music to get the couples warmed up.

After May had turned around, she noticed Drew walking up to her.

"May I have this dance?"

"Yes, you may," She sighed, taking his hands.

The two danced and matched the rhythm of the music skillfully. Although May didn't put her effort into dancing, her partner began to dance with everything he could, trying to make an impression on May. Needless to say, he failed since May was in her own trance and looking up occasionally to catch sight of the boy she longed to see. The only person she recognized was her friend Dawn, who was currently dancing with one of the knights, whose name was Kenny. This was not how she wanted this night to go.

Shortly after she finished her dance with Drew, she caught a blue figure walking in from the corner of her eye. She turned and looked at the entrance and had seen Ash walk in with the tunic he purchased the other day.

May immediately began to blush after noticing how handsome he looked. The dark blue tunic expressed his courage and loyalty, while the black colored cape added a mysterious touch to his looks, making him that much better looking.

"Ash!"

Ash looked up and around to see who had just called his name, but instead felt very delicate arms wrap around his waist. He looked down to see May tightly clinging onto him.

"Hey May. Sorry I'm late."

"No problem at all. Come on! The music just started!"

"Yeah, but too bad I can't dance with you," Ash muttered.

May dragged Ash by the arm and once again, the band began to play another fast ballroom song. In response, everyone paired up again. Dawn with Kenny and May with Drew. The only person with no partner was Ash, who was desperately trying to find one. After seeing everyone already had a dance partner, he gave up his chances. That was until; he was tapped in the back on the shoulder. He shifted his body to see a young girl his age looking up at him nervously.

"Can we dance?"

Ash smiled. "Sure."

The two stepped onto the dance floor and locked hands.

"What's your name?" The girl asked.

"I'm Ash Ketchum, what's yours?"

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Misty Waterflower."

"It's nice to meet you too."

* * *

May turned to catch a glance at Ash. The sight that unfolded before her eyes made her extremely jealous. Ash was dancing with a girl…that wasn't her. The way the girl was holding onto Ash and trying to get closer and closer to him added that much more to it.

Ash, too, turned his gaze to look at May, who was moving along to Drew's movements.

What happened next, made Ash's heart shatter into a million pieces.

Drew kissed May.

This was just too much for Ash. Saying he was upset would be an understatement to what he was truly feeling. He was beyond devastated. The love of his life just got kissed by the guy he hated most in his life, and she wasn't separating from the kiss.

This was something Misty immediately noticed. "Is there something wrong, Ash?"

A tear fell past Ash's eyelids and began to stream down his cheek. "I'm sorry, I got to go."

Ash let go of Misty and ran as fast as he possibly could out of the Ballroom. He reached the outdoors and ran into a hidden area covered by shrubs and branches of trees and cried silently. Letting all of his emotions pour into the cold, hard, ground.

Drew was continuing to passionately kiss May, which May was trying everything she could to escape the embrace. After May forcefully pulled away, she kicked Drew hard in the crotch.

"How dare you kiss me without my permission! You bloody monster!"

While LaRousse sat on the floor whimpering, and clutching his crotch with both hands, May ran out in search of Ash. "She…wants…me."

* * *

"Ash! Ash! Where are you?"

May called out desperately, looking closely for a sign of Ash, before hearing something in the distance. What it sounded like was distant…crying.

"Ash? Is that you?"

After she walked up to area Ash was hidden in, she pushed some of the branches and shrubs aside, where she found him…

Ash looked terrible right at this moment. He was hugging his knees tightly and crying softly into his tunic with his hat lowered. The sight would've just made anyone want to hug the boy so tight and assure him everything was right. But they couldn't. His heart was broken and there wasn't much for anyone else to cure it.

"May?"

Ash pushed his hat up and showed his puffy, red eyes. After wiping away some of the tears with the back of his sleeve, he began to listen to what May had to say.

"Ash, what's wrong?"

"Y-you kissed Drew…" he mumbled.

"…Ash. I didn't kiss him. He kissed me."

"B-But you d-didn't p-push him away."

May smiled weakly. "Allow me to just tell you he wouldn't be having kids for a long, long while."

Ash giggled, understanding what she meant and heavily sighed. "I wish I was there to see it…"

May giggled along with Ash. "Yeah...So are we um…good? Do you forgive me?"

"Of course. How could I not forgive my closest friend," Ash smiled.

"Yeah haha. I guess I can forgive you too."

"Huh? For what?"

"For dancing with that girl instead of me," She nervously stuttered.

Ash smirked. "How could I ever repay you?"

May seemed to ponder about it for a moment. "Um…you could repay me with a dance?"

The Kanto Prince blushed in an instant. Dancing with a girl he had no feelings for was fine for him. But dancing with his true love was much different to him.

"Well…I don't know."

"Aww, please?"

Ash did his hardest not to resist her puppy dog eyes. "It's not that I don't want to…it's just that."

"Just…what?"

"I can't dance that well," Ash nervously smiled.

"It can't be that bad. After seeing the way you danced in there, you actually looked quite good."

"I suppose one dance couldn't hurt…"

May's face lit up. "That's the spirit!"

Being not too far away from the Ballroom, the two could still hear the music playing. Instead of the fast songs that have been playing, this one was quite slow and…romantic.

"Oh um…I was kina expecting a fast song to come on," Ash said sheepishly.

"Well…you did promise me a dance, so…?"

"You mean…it's okay with you?"

May turned a bright crimson color. "Yeah…you can go ahead."

Ash nodded and slowly approached May and held onto one of her hands as he let the other wrap around her waist. May squeezed Ash's hand with her own and placed the other on his firm shoulder.

The couple looked deep into each other's eyes and began to sway their bodies in rhythm to the music.

….

"This is nice, isn't it?" Ash whispered.

"Yeah…It sure is…" May whispered back.

When the song progressed further, the two's bodies began to grow closer and closer to one another, their eyes still locked in place.

Shorter than they would've liked it to, the song ended, leaving the couple incredibly embarrassed.

However, the two still kept their eyes fixed on one another. Ash's dark brown eyes mixing with May's sea ocean eyes, the two with the same thoughts running in circles around their minds. "I love you."

Ash and May started to slowly lean into each other as their eyes closed along with the action. Soon enough, Ash felt the sensation of May's lips coming into contact with his own. The kiss was beyond remarkable. It was as if two long lost puzzle pieces had finally met and connected to one another in a world full of paradise.

Further into the kiss, Ash began to wrap his arms around her waist, squeezing the princess closer to his body. In response, May wrapped her arms around Ash's neck and the two kissed more passionately and loving than any other couple possibly could.

After a few minutes, the prince and princess were forced to separate for air.

"…Ash."

"…May."

"I love you," They said in unison.

After realizing what had escaped from their mouths, they immediately turned bright red and blushed.

"Does this mean…"

"Yeah…I think so."

After looking from the ground back to each other's eyes, the two parted their lips in yet, another affectionate kiss, sealing their new relationship…as a couple.

* * *

**The sad thing is, is that the dancing sequence all the way to the end was inspired by an experience I've had in my life. So while I go cry in embarrassment, you all can leave a review! :) **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: All Good Things Come to an End

* * *

_**Last Time:**_

"…_Ash."_

"…_May."_

"_I love you," They said in unison._

_After realizing what had escaped from their mouths, they immediately turned bright red and blushed._

"_Does this mean…"_

"_Yeah…I think so."_

_After looking from the ground back to each other's eyes, the two parted their lips in yet, another affectionate kiss, sealing their new relationship…as a couple._

* * *

No words were needed as the new couple continued to passionately kiss under the beautifully lit light of the moon, neither wanting for their precious moment to end. Something they would cherish within themselves for eternity.

But, like the saying goes: "All good things must eventually come to an end." This went exactly true for the young couple, as they were being secretly watched.

Peering through the shrubs, the person clenched their teeth and tightened their grip on the tunic… all from a combination of anger, disappointment, and shock.

…..

"How dare he steal my Princess away from me? There will be hell to pay for this. And I know that prince will."

After motioning for some hidden guards to pop out from their hiding spots, he ordered them to assassinate the prince. The group of 5 Johto Knights nodded to the green haired boy and pushed past the shrubs and branches that blocked their path.

* * *

"I love you so much, May. Since the time I've laid my eyes upon you, your beautiful face has dwelled in a special place in my heart. From everything I felt near you…the warmth in my stomach, the nervousness, my rapid heartbeat, has proven me otherwise. That I have indeed fallen hard for you.

"Oh Ash, that's so sweet! I'm finally glad that you felt the same way about me. I wouldn't think someone as great as you could like a girl like me," She said, gently resting her head on his chest.

Ash continued to stroke the curls in her hair while staring down at her. "I'm glad we love each other too, but what about the agreement? It strictly forbids us from being together."

"Ash…I would rip that agreement to shreds if I could…but I just don't know what to do. My father is forcing me to marry the Johto Prince, but I don't want to! I want to…marry you instead," She shyly admitted.

Ash smirked before his eyes widened in fear. "Get down!"

May looked confused for a second before being pushed down to the ground along with Ash, who followed the action.

May was just about to question what was wrong, but looked up and saw several arrows whooshing past them, barely nicking the fabric of their clothes.

After Ash slowly got up, he looked closely to see the shrubs in front of him shake violently as several swords began slashing at them.

"May, Run!" Ash screamed.

May arose from the ground panicky. "What about you? I'm not going to leave you!" She retorted.

"No, I can't see you get hurt! Now just go! I can handle these guys."

May obediently nodded and started dashing away, faster than the speed of a Rapidash.

Ash quickly withdrew the sword from his hip and pointed it in the direction of the ruckus.

* * *

Soon enough, 5 dudes in bulky knight's armor came charging at Ash…following their orders to kill him.

The Prince was needless to say, shocked at the five knights fighting him as if it were life or death. His only response being to fight back with everything he had.

Once the first slash had been made to Ash, he had skillfully ducked and sweeped the knight off his feet with his leg.

After the knight had been tripped, two other knights began to charge straight at him, both in opposite directions, thus trapping him.

Right at the last moment, Ash did a diving roll to avoid the collision of the two charging menacingly at him, causing the two knights to run into each other. As soon as the knights came into contact with the hard ground, the 3 knights, including the one that recovered the leg sweep began to stare at Ash with unbreakable focus, with their swords gripped tightly in their hands.

Two of the knights decided to break the silence by charging at Ash once again. One of them striking down at the young prince, who blocked it by raising his sword up and then kicking him straight in the head. The moment Ash turned around, another knight took the chance to slash his sword at the young boy.

Ash winced once the metal blade pierced his tunic and ran along his tanned flesh. Biting his lower lip, he did a backflip followed with an uppercut kick that came into contact with the knight's chin knocking him backwards. As the Kanto native turned around, he could see the last knight glaring down at him. Instead of charging like the boy suspected, the knight threw his sword aside and took off his bow from his shoulder and withdrew an arrow into the string. Ash, not having his bow on him at the moment, just stood his ground, by waiting patiently for the arrow to come and closed his eyes.

The knight chuckled to himself and released the string. "Have a good life...with hell."

Time seemed to come to an end as the arrow pierced through the heavy breeze and straight at the close-eyed Kanto native. With one swift movement, Ash brought his arm up and caught the arrow in his hand.

The man slowly lowered his weapon and stood wide eyed through his helmet. He was terrified now. Scared for his life. After seeing the boy's eyes shoot open and the evil glare he emitted, the environment seemed to shake as the knight trembled in deep fear.

Ash tossed the arrow to the side and cracked his knuckles. "Big mistake."

The knight began to fearfully scramble for his sword, attempting to pick it up from the ground, but was met with a fierceful blow to the side of his head by a sword. The knight was still standing, but shook his body to regain composure. Instead of recovering from his dizziness state, another strike came at him, but in the abdomen, followed with a combo of sword hits and then finally a kick to the chest.

Ash ran over to the fallen knight and ripped the helmet off his face.

"Please! Don't kill me!" the man begged.

"Who sent you!" Ash demanded.

The knight shook in fear, but stood his ground. "I'll never tell you that!"

Ash lowered the sword at the man's neck in a threatening manner, thus forcing the information out of him.

"Ok! Ok! King Alexander of the Johto Kingdom. Just don't kill me!"

Instead of releasing the man like he had hoped, Ash picked him up by his neck and head-butted him hard in the face, knocking him out cold.

"Thanks…but no thanks."

…

Ash's thoughts started to drift to what the man had told him earlier. _"King Alexander of the Johto Kingdom."_

But he thought to himself. "Why would he want me dead? It could be that he wouldn't want me alive to marry the princess, but he made an agreement with my kingdom forbidding me from marrying her."

His thought drifted away and then came to one reasonable conclusion for now. "I have to tell Norman of this, but I have to find May first."

He got to his feet and started to run in the direction of the princess. After walking through the gap in the shrubs, he saw May sitting on the ground by the Ballroom, looking extremely anxious.

"Ash! Are you okay? And what happened to your tunic?"

"It's just a tunic May. What's important is we're alright."

May's eyelids began to tear up as she cried softly on his chest. "W-Why did those men try t-to k-ill you?"

"I don't know May. But I'm gonna find out. If it's the last thing I do," He assured her, patting her back gently.

…

"I think we should go home," May said, looking up from his chest.

Ash nodded. "I agree. But, we have to tell your father of the incident."

May lightly kissed his lips and began walking with Ash in the direction of the castle.

* * *

Everyone in the Ballroom were completely oblivious about the incident earlier, and continued to dance to the loud music currently being played by the private band. All in while, was Drew watching the couple walk away.

"That Kanto prince isn't getting away with this that easily. Even if this will end in war between the kingdoms, I'll do it." Drew growled in pure anger.

* * *

"Father! Father!"

The doors to the King's room had just burst open and showed the two teens running in.

"Hmm? Ash? May? I wasn't expecting you back so soon. Where's the Johto Prince?"

"Father! There's been a terrible incident near the ball!"

Unfortunately for Norman, he was unable to hear what May was saying due to her anxious state, so he turned to Ash. "Ash? What's going on?"

The Kanto native sighed. "There's been an incident near the ball. A group of 5 knights came after me and attempted to assassinate me."

Norman began to get concerned. "That's terrible! What happened next?"

I told May to run to safety, while I left the 5 knights unconscious. I interrogated one of them and the man behind the armor said that the Johto King sent them."

"King Alexander? It certainly couldn't be him. I've known him for a long while," The Hoenn King said, unconvinced, with a raised eyebrow.

This made May incredibly frustrated. "Dad! How could you say that! Ash never lies, so he is telling the truth!"

Ash turned to make direct eye contact with Norman to signify that he was indeed telling the truth.

Norman stared back into Ash's eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry, but I cannot help you with this. You will have to go to Johto yourself to ask the king there."

"I'll do it."

"Ash! You can't go by yourself! What if something else happens?" She protested.

The young boy placed both hands on the young princess' shoulders. "May, I'll be fine. After all I did manage to protect you from groups of enemies before, right?"

May's cheeks slightly tinged a light crimson color. "Yeah but…"

Norman looked to his daughter and agreed with Ash. "May, Ash will be just fine. The agreement is still intact, so if something were to happen to Ash without him breaking the agreement, then whatever the people of Johto did will be considered "treason" within themselves."

"Yes…but this is a whole kingdom we're talking about!"

Ash continued to reassure the girl. "May, come on. Everything will be alright. I promise you that."

May looked up and into the raven haired boy's chocolate auburn eyes and instantly became lost in them. After snapping herself out of her mini trance, she finally gave in. "Fine…but please be careful."

Ash grinned. "I promise."

The Hoenn King smiled at the teens' interaction. "Very well then. When are you leaving Ash?"

"The first thing next morning."

"Very well then. I realize this is going to be a rather risky mission, so after thinking to myself, I'll allow you to take one of my finest knights along with you. I can't risk more men's lives to save you from one simple trip. So nonetheless, I wish you a safe trip to Johto and farewell for now."

"Thank you Norman. I guess I'll see you soon then."

* * *

Ash began to walk upstairs and to his room for a goodnight's sleep. He was certainly going to need it if he was heading to the Johto Kingdom.

Once taking off his hat, boots and gloves, the boy sat on the edge of his bed, about to go to sleep, all until the door to his room slightly opened.

"Huh? Who's there?" Ash asked, placing a hand over his sword.

"Ash. It's me May."

He took his hand off his weapon, with a smile creeping upon his face once hearing her voice. "Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing. I'm just worried about your trip to Johto, that's all," She replied, walking over to him and placing her lips directly over his.

What was about to be a small kiss from May ended up turning into a long, heated kiss.

Before May had the opportunity to pull away, Ash wrapped his arms around her waist and then layed comfortably on his bed with May directly on top of him.

Between kisses, May whispered. "Ash. I just love you so much. I don't know what I'd ever do if you were gone."

Ash broke away from their kissing and looked up at her. "I don't know what I'd do either, May. I love you too," He said, digging his head into her neck, kissing it lovingly. In response, May let out quiet moans of pleasure.

...

They shifted their positioning so that Ash was now directly on top of May. With him gaining the advantage over her, he crashed his lips over hers once more, his tongue entering her mouth, while she held the back of his head, running her fingers through his messy black hair.

She began to giggle as she felt his tongue explore every crevice in her mouth, so she decided to return the action, sticking her tongue into his mouth.

Both were having the time of their lives. Each twisting their tongues together and kissing each other's lips and necks.

But…their violent make out session had eventually come to an end as both separated, gasping for air. Neither seemed to care about the lack of oxygen they contained in their lungs, but both were more focused on their lovers instead.

"I think that's enough of feeling your tongue all over my mouth. I've got to get some sleep now," Ash teasingly said.

May turned bright red and nodded. "Okay, sleep tight Ashy. Be careful tomorrow, please?"

Ash smiled and pecked her lips before slipping into his covers. "I promise."

With one final kiss from May, she left the room.

Shortly after Ash shut his eyes, a wide grin began to plaster over his face. With one thought running through his mind like a broken record player.

* * *

The second Ash's eyes opened, he plopped himself out of bed. Once doing so, he threw on the remainder of his clothes. His boots, gloves, and his hat.

Careful not to wake anyone in the castle, Ash swiftly, but quietly ran across the room and opened the entrance of the castle.

Once he stepped out, he was greeted with the soothing breeze of the morning sky. Taking in the pleasurable scent of the winds, he says a knight waiting patiently as if he was looking for someone.

After examining the knight thoroughly, the prince walked up to the man behind the armor to greet him.

"Hello. Are you the knight that will escort me to the Johto Kingdom?"

"Ash? Is that you?"

The raven haired boy seemed confused as to how the man knew his name. "That's my name, but who are you?"

The knight lifted up his helmet for the boy to get a much clearer look of him. "It's me Thomas. You haven't forgot about, have you boy?" He joked.

Ash smirked. "Not at all. How could I forget the bestest of my friends?"

Thomas chuckled. "Haha, well that's what I thought."

The two young men shared a brief conversation, before Ash reminded the man of the business they had to attend to.

"We should probably head to the Johto Kingdom now."

"Ah, you're right my boy. Allow me to call my Rapidash. He can take us there."

Ash smirked. "I've got a quicker way of transport."

Before anything could escape Thomas' mouth, Ash stuck his index finger and thumb to his mouth, whistling very loud and clear.

In response to the loud whistles, Charizard came swooping down.

Ash turned to Thomas, who had his mouth gaped. "Is that your dragon, lad?"

"It sure is…Now hope on! He won't bite!"

Thomas mouthed a "wow" before climbing onto Charizard allowing Ash to take the front.

* * *

**(Last night at the Ball with Drew)**

Drew walked out of the Ballroom in search of the 5 knights he ordered to kill Ash. While looking back into the shrubs, he had seen all 5 men weakly stand up, cracking their bones for comfort.

"What the hell happened here!" Drew shouted.

All of the knight's eyes turned to Drew as he continued to ramble on about how they were so stupid for letting the prince get away.

"Your Highness! We apologize for not being able to stop the boy!"

"Shut up! I gave you 5 an order to kill one boy and you cannot do it! How pathetic!"

"Your Highness, if you had seen him fight, you would understand. He's not like any other fighter we've ever faced before."

The rest of the knights nodded along with him. After the men's desperate attempt to get themselves out of trouble, LaRousse began to think about how Ash beat him in both the sword and bow and arrow duels back in the Hoenn Kingdom.

"I suppose you're right. But that gives no excuse for 5 men to lose against one adolescent!"

They all sweatdropped. After Drew had agreed to them, he just shot them back with another insult

"You know what? Just forget it. We're going back to Johto. Come on boys."

After the prince whistled for his mount, it instantly ran in his direction at a lightning pace, putting a jet to shame.

Once Drew hopped on the Rapidash's back, the other knights did the same and they rode off to the Johto Kingdom.

"My son! Why back so soon? Did the plan work?"

Drew shook his head. "No. That Ketchum kid is one heck of a fighter though. He took out all 5 of the knights you sent."

Alexander frowned. "Then we will have to go more extreme."

"But how?" Drew questioned.

"I don't know, but we will find a way. I can't have this young man here if there's a chance he and the princess would fall in love."

"Yes father. We shall decide on the plan together."

"It is decided then."

* * *

**(Flashback end)**

It was around 8 in the morning when Ash and Sir Thomas had finally arrived at the Johto Kingdom. As they took a brief look around, they could see it was decent looking and rather peaceful, but there was something fishy that bothered Ash. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but something seemed odd to him. He ignored the thought and the two went in search of the castle.

It wasn't too long before the caught sight of it. It was the largest building in the entire kingdom, so it stood out pretty easy to them.

"There! That's the castle," Alexander pointed.

"Ah good catch. How did you find it so quick?"

"Uh…it's the biggest building here, so it's kind of a dead giveaway."

Ash took a moment to scan the kingdom and realized he had been right. "Oh yeah."

Thomas sweatdropped and lead Ash to the castle. One arm around his shoulder and the other gripped around the handle of his sword, in case they were to run into any trouble.

From all around, the duo received some weird looks from some people. Since they were new, it was a bit odd to see unfamiliar faces.

"Could we maybe hurry up, Thomas? I feel awkward with all of these stares."

Thomas took a glance around and saw there were indeed many people staring as if they were ghostly figures.

"Don't worry Ash. We're almost there."

Ash sighed to himself and stepped onto the drawbridge leading into the castle, where they were stopped by two knights guarding the doors.

"Halt! Who goes there!"

"I'm Ash Ketchum and this is Sir Thomas. He is from the Hoenn Kingdom, whiles I, myself is from the Kanto Kingdom. We're just here to make a quick discussion to the king."

The knight narrowed its eyes at Ash, but agreed. He looked promising enough, so he decided to just go with it.

"Very well..."

And with that, the two men walked into the castle.

"Hey Ash? Where do you think the king's room would be?"

"Hmm…I haven't really thought about it until now. But look for the biggest room in the castle. That's where the king's room usually is in a castle.

Thomas nodded and looked around further. "Hey, do you think that could be it, lad?"

Ash followed the direction Thomas was gazing to and nodded. "I think that may just be it. Let's go."

Ash and Thomas walked over to the room and opened the door to find King Alexander relaxing into his large, prestigious chair.

"Your Majesty. If you remember me, my name is Ash Ketchum, the prince of Kanto," Ash said, taking a bow.

Thomas followed the prince's action and bowed in courtesy to the king. "Your Majesty."

King Alexander looked blankly at the two. "Yes. I do remember you. What do you want?"

Ash winced at his slight harsh tone of voice. "We came here in regards to an incident at the Hoenn Kingdom."

"Oh? Which incident are you speaking of?"

"Well…5 of your men had come and attack me at a Grand Ball in the Kingdom…so I was wondering if you knew anything about that."

"Haha…of course not, my boy!" Alexander quickly frowned and snapped his fingers.

On cue, 10 knights came rushing in the room, all armed with swords or sharp daggers. "Kill the knight, but leave the boy alive," The king ordered.

Ash and Sir Thomas gasped and pulled out swords of their own.

"What is the meaning of this!" Thomas demanded as two knights grasped him and Ash from behind, taking them each into a bear hug.

Before Thomas had the chance to escape, another knight came up to him and plunged a sword through his helmet.

As the knight from behind let go, Thomas crumpled to the ground, soaked in a pool of his own blood.

"Thomas!"

* * *

**Sorry about the cliffhanger! I assure you all that you will find out what happens soon, but for now, Read and Review. Oh…and if you can…follow and favorite :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Preparations must be made

* * *

"Good work men. Now get that filthy body out of here before it rots my kingdom," Alexander ordered.

Right away, two knights walked over to the knight's fallen body. One grabbing onto his arms, while the other took his two legs, and began to drag Thomas' corpse down the hall of the kingdom.

Ash shed a tear from the harsh treatment his friend received and spat at the king out of anger. "How dare you kill my friend in cold blood! You'll have hell to pay for that!"

The Johto King just scoffed at his statement. "Take him away knights. We'll deal with him later."

"This isn't over!" Ash shouted, while one of the knights forcefully carried him to a prison cell.

Ash and one of Johto knights began to walk together down the steps of the kingdom, leading them into a dark room only lit up by a few torches called the dungeon.

The dungeon was beyond terrifying to the naked eye. There were several prisoners sitting in their cells looking miserable or as if they went insane. Some even running up to Ash and begging him for mercy. Ash shivered at the memory, and continued to walk down the dark hall.

"Get in," The knight said, motioning into an empty prison cell.

Ash only nodded and nervously walked into the cell, completely trapped from escaping.

"Now stay here. The King will deal with you later."

Ash winced from the harsh tone the knight used and quietly nodded.

The guard took one last look of pure disgust at Ash and walked out of the dungeon without saying another word.

* * *

**(Hoenn Kingdom)**

"Father! Why hasn't Ash returned yet? It's already night and he's still not back yet!"

"Maybelle. You have to calm down. I'm sure Ash and Sir Thomas will be fi-."

"No! You don't understand! He's my guardian and I-I can't lose him!" May cut in.

"What's wrong?" Caroline asked, jumping into the conversation along with Max.

"Ash! He's left for the Johto Kingdom and hasn't come back!"

"May…he'll be fine."

May groaned. Her parents didn't take one moment to even listen to her. She was beyond frustrated…yet upset.

"What's so wrong May? Scared of losing your boyfriend?" Max teased.

May turned bright red. "Shut up!"

Norman sighed. "Tell you what May. How about if Ash doesn't arrive until morning, you, I, and a couple of knights will head to the Johto Kingdom and look for them?"

May seemed to like the thought of that. "Thank you father! That would be fantastic!"

Norman was surprised when his daughter jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly, but returned his daughter's embrace. "You're welcome, May. I couldn't let my daughter's guardian die, now could I?" He smirked.

Caroline smiled as she watched her daughter nuzzle into Norman's chest like she had when she was just a little girl.

"Ah…they grow up so fast."

...

* * *

**(Johto Kingdom)**

"Drew come here this instant!"

"Huh? What is it father?" Drew walked into his father's room.

"I got the Kanto prince."

Drew smirked. "Great…but what's the next part of the plan?"

"We wait for King Norman and Miss May to come save him and then you propose to his daughter."

He raised an eyebrow. "How do you suspect they'll come?"

"Drew…Norman's bound to do a thing like that…and his daughter has fallen in love with the Kanto prince, so she'll want to see him."

Drew wore a shocked look on his face. He had learned May loved Ash the hard way, but his father acted as if he had a care in the world. "H-How did you even know that?"

Alexander just shook his head. "You have a lot more to learn about love my boy. Back in the Hoenn Kingdom, I had a hunch the boy and May loved each other. The way they would catch small gazes at each other…and that longing look they would give each other every so often."

"Oh…but the agreement? That gives us the right to kill him, doesn't it?"

"Hold it now son! Wouldn't you find more pleasure in slowly torturing him rather than ending his life quickly in an empty prison cell?"

The green haired boy brought his index finger to his chin. "I suppose that would do…but what do we tell the king when they arrive? They'll know Ash is missing."

"Simple. We'll just tell them that he and that knight died on their trip to Johto and we found their bodies," He shrugged.

"You mean... fake his death?"

Alexander shook his head up and down in response to his son's question.

Drew grinned. "I'm starting to like that plan…It'll go right into action once they arrive then. But what about a ring? I need a ring to propose to the princess."

"Yeah. That's precisely what I was thinking. And for the ring…you can use this."

Drew's father pulled out a golden ring from his pocket. "This was the ring I gave your mother when we got married…but after her death, I kept it with me."

The Johto Prince nodded and took the ring from his father's hands.

* * *

**(Hoenn Kingdom)**

The night went by at a slow pace for the Maple family. Each of them deeply worried for Ash Ketchum, but one in particular was having the hardest evening of them all.

The young brunette haired girl stirred in her sleep as she was haunted with traumatizing images of the raven haired boy she loved so dearly become killed over and over again in a series of dreams.

After seeing the young boy brutally stabbed by the Johto prince she despised, she abruptly shot up from her bed.

May took a quick look of both directions of her room. To her left, she only saw her curtains saw slowly to the low breeze from the outdoors. To her right she only saw more cobblestone wall and a door not far away from it.

After wiping some sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, she rested her head in the back of her pillow.

She sighed as the back of her head came into contact with the fluffy pillow and she slowly drifted off to sleep. It was rather difficult for her to get some more sleep after the horrid nightmare, but at least she could finally rest in peace.

May once again shot up from her bed.

Taking a look out the windows, she saw it was now morning. She sighed and began to grow overly excited. The first reason was for Ash possibly returning to the kingdom and secondly, she would see him at the Johto Kingdom if he hadn't returned. However, she couldn't help but feel an anxious feeling take over her normal cheerful behavior, but decided to brush it off for now.

"Father? Father!"

Her voice echoed throughout the kingdom, shaking everyone including her family awake. After seeing her mother and father walk out of their room, she bombarded them with questions she longed to ask.

"Has Ash returned?"

Norman sighed and quickly rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "No…but we'll look for him today."

May's feelings had been shattered, but hope started to rise as she had the chance to look for him at Johto.

"Alright…but let's get ready! We've got to make sure Ash is alright!"

The princess dashed off and began to get out of her nightwear and do her regular morning routine.

Norman and Caroline exchanged a glance and shrugged, before they too left to go get ready as well.

"May are you ready?" Norman shouted through the door of her room.

"As ready as I'll ever be!" She shouted back, flinging the door open.

"…You look very nice May. What's the occasion? Looking nice for Drew LaRousse?"

May facepalmed. Although she spent the time to look nice for the day, she hadn't done it for Drew. Not now, and not in a million years.

"Let's just go."

Norman nodded. "Very well."

Father and daughter had just stepped out of the castle, and Norman motioned for several knights to come with him.

Norman decided to take 4 knights along with him to the Johto trip. Not too many men to risk, but an appropriate number to take along on a short trip.

Instead of taking Rapidashes like warriors would, they rode in a small carriage, which was hulled by two Rapidashes. 2 knights were each on a horse in the front, with one riding in the carriage along with the King and Princess, and the last in the back to alert the group of any possible ambushes.

...

* * *

The entire ride went by silently without any trouble brewing. The knights were all doing their duties, Norman sat quietly, and May was busy daydreaming about the raven haired hero.

It was several hours until they have finally reached the Johto Kingdom. Once stepping out of the carriage, Norman and May stretched their aching muscles. Although they had stopped every so often to rest, it was still quite a long trip.

"Here it is! The Johto Kingdom," said Norman.

May took a look around. She had never been the kingdom unlike her father, so this was all so new to her.

"Where should we look for Ash first?" May asked curiously.

Norman shrugged. "I'm guessing the castle. That's where he must've last been."

May nodded to her father and followed him to the castle…the 4 knights walking closely to them.

Soon enough, the group had come across the castle, which was indeed the biggest building in the entire kingdom. Unlike Ash, May had recognized it instantly.

"This is it?" The Hoenn princess asked.

"Yeah. This is it," Norman answered.

May took in its sight and stared at it in awe. "It's bigger than the Hoenn castle."

Norman smiled to his daughter and urged her to go on in.

"Halt! Who goes there!"

"Good day to you knights. I am King Norman of Hoenn and this is my daughter, the princess of Hoenn."

He needed to say no more as the knights bowed slightly in respect to the king. "Your Majesty. You may make your way in."

"Thank you."

The group walked into the castle and into King Alexander's room with Norman leading.

Throwing the door open, Alexander and Drew looked up.

"King Alexander. Drew," Norman said to acknowledge their presence. "We came to speak to you of something really quick."

"King Norman! What a surprise! Come! We shall discuss whatever it is in the dining room," he greeted.

Norman nodded and followed the king with the accompany of the knights and Drew and May. The Johto prince sent May a quick wink before May turned away and crossed her arms.

"She wants me."

* * *

"So Norman? What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Alexander asked, taking a sip of his tea.

Norman took a sip of his own tea. "I wanted to speak to you of the Kanto prince.

Oblivious to the Hoenn King, Alexander and Drew slightly tensed at the hearing of the prince, but still managed to speak. "What about him?"

"Well…he's been gone a day from Hoenn, so we were just wondering if you knew where he might be."

"He's dead," Drew convincingly said, cutting into the conversation.

"WHAT?" May practically shouted, earning a few stares around the dining room.

Alexander let out a dramatic, yet believable sigh. "I'm afraid my son…is right. You see…on his way to his trip, Ash and his knight had been killed before he even reached the kingdom. We found him just recently in the fields nearby Johto…dead."

Norman gasped in shock, while May's heart had shattered. "You can't be serious! He's alive and I know it!"

"I'm sorry young lady…but the prince is dead," Alexander said.

As much as May didn't want to accept it, she started to believe he was dead along with her father.

"Are you sure it was his body?" Norman asked, making sure.

"Of course. It was a young boy about 17 years of age, who wore a dark blue tunic. He was also accompanied by a knight in his thirties."

A tear escaped from the two Maples. "I-I can't believe this happened."

Alexander gave a short sad nod. He acted believable too, even if he was lying through his teeth. "I'm disappointed as well. Just by judging him, he seemed like a fine lad too."

Everyone sat in a moment of silence, remembering everything about the boy they once or should I say still knew.

May started to let out a waterfall of tears as she shot out of her seat and ran from the room. Drew got up as well and followed closely behind her.

King Norman was about to get up as well, but was stopped by King Alexander. "Stop. I'm sure my boy can confront us better than anyone else here could."

Norman gave a blank stare to the Johto King as he sat back in his seat.

* * *

"Maybelle?"

Drew began to walk through the Kingdom in search of the princess. "Oh, Maybelle?"

He walked around a corner and found her huddled up in a corner. Her knees to her chest and arms around her legs, with tears leaking from her heavy eyelids.

"What do you want?" May growled.

He flicked his hair. "Just came to find you. That's all."

May clenched her teeth. "Well I don't need your confronting if that's what you're trying to do."

"No. Not at all, but I came because we were waiting for you to return to the dining room."

May got up and pushed Drew aside before heading in the direction of the dining room.

"Not long Drew. Just a little more and she'll come to you like crazy," He thought to himself, before he left and followed closely behind her.

* * *

"May are you alright?" Norman whispered to her as she walked over to her seat.

"No…my guardian, whom I cared so much for is dead…and you expect me to be alright?" She sniffled.

Norman opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by King Alexander. "Hey. How about we all take a walk around the Johto Kingdom? It's your first time here May, so why don't we show you everything around here worth seeing?"

May gave no response, except wiping more tears that fell from her face.

"We'd love that," Norman answered.

"Very well then. We'll head out right away."

Right at the moment, Drew had just come back and met up with the family. After May and Norman were busying reading themselves to go out, Drew whispered something privately to his father.

"What are we doing?"

"We're just taking a walk around Johto. That's all."

"When am I going to propose?"

"You'll find the time. Remember the princess is forced to say yes because of the agreement."

"Yeah Yeah, I've heard you talk about the agreement all day."

"Good. Now get ready. We're heading out right away.

The LaRousses and Maples had finally gotten themselves ready for the walk and right after, headed out.

The whole walk, May had no expression on her face whatsoever. It was as if someone had just ripped the soul right out of her body.

Norman and Drew had done everything they could to cheer her up…well Norman mostly, but failed at every attempt.

The princess seemed emotionless on the outside, but inside, she was heartbroken. This wasn't one of those heartbreaking moments when a week old boyfriend dumps you, but it was more like a true love of many years had left her. In fact, it would be a big understatement to say she was just "depressed" to what she was truly feeling.

The four had done pretty much everything to do in the kingdom. They had ate, walked around, visited various shops, and so on…all which May miserably went through.

After their long day at the kingdom, they had finally agreed to settle down and relax on a hill not still in the kingdom. Each of them were swarmed in their own thoughts. May continued to think of Ash and cried silently to herself, Norman worried for his little girl, Alexander thought about his next plans as king, and Drew began to think about the proposal. Drew had specifically picked this moment out of all. It was perfect, quiet, and in ear reach to everyone in the kingdom.

Drew slowly got up from the grass and walked over to May, grabbing her hand. "May."

This instantly grabbed the attention of Norman and Alexander, who both watched the scene before them.

"I know it has not been long since we've met. But the second I've seen you, I knew you and I were meant to be for each other. As I take your hand right here in my kingdom I would be my honor if you joined me…in marriage. So Maybelle? Will you marry me?"

May sighed and looked towards her father for assistance. As she looked at him, he just gave a sad smile to her.

He understood what she was feeling right now. After suffering a devastating "death" from Ash, she now had to face a marriage with the one whom she despised.

"Drew…I-I..."

Everyone in the kingdom had now been watching intently to May's response. Right after Drew had been speaking, they had gathered quite an audience. The prince of their kingdom had just proposed to a princess…who wouldn't be interested?

After May let out another sigh and swallowed the lump in her throat..."I- accept."

Everyone including King Alexander had cheered for the newly engaged couple as Drew slid the golden ring on her finger. In the back, Norman clapped along with the crowd of people roaring with excitement.

"Come along you two! We must prepare for the wedding at once!"

May, Drew and, Norman ran after the King who dashed in the direction of the castle.

May sighed deeply to herself. This was certainly the worst day she'd ever lived in her life. "Why couldn't Ash be here?"

* * *

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	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Kings of Kanto

* * *

That day, Norman had immediately sent a letter telling his wife that their daughter was going to be wed to the Johto Prince, while Alexander had begun to plan the wedding with Drew, May, and the help of many of the Johto natives.

Drew had been more than enthusiastic to describe the perfect wedding for themselves, while May gave short sighs and fake smiles to cover up her depressed state. Anyone who ACTUALLY cared for her would've seen right through her act, but the people of Johto hadn't seemed to notice or even care.

* * *

By late afternoon, Caroline and Max had just arrived to Johto with the accompany of many more knights and people from the Hoenn Kingdom. The reason Caroline had showed up was mainly to help plan the wedding, as well as be there for her daughter's big day. And Max…well he was dragged to come along with his mother.

Once the Hoenn group had stepped into the Johto Castle, it appeared to be filled with many people. Most were either servants or employees of the castle to help out with the wedding. Left and right, people ran and ran in different directions…it was like a massive hurricane had hit.

However, this wedding was going to be the biggest and most significant of any of the other weddings. Not only would the couple be wed, but a coronation would also take place. Drew would be crowned the King of Johto, while May would rule alongside Drew as the Queen of Johto, so it required a lot of planning. Needless to say, Caroline and Max were shocked by the amount of people roaming the castle, but quickly made their way to the kings.

"Norman, honey?"

"We're right over here Caroline!" Norman shouted.

The Queen as well as all of the Hoenn natives followed the voice to meet Norman, Alexander, Drew, May, and many other people she wasn't acquainted with…most likely servants was her guess.

Caroline smiled to her husband and went to greet the Johto King.

"Alexander, how are you doing?"

Alexander smiled back. "Just fine Caroline, and yourself?"

"Fine, thank you… May? I bet you're excited to finally become the Queen of Johto."

May let out a deep sigh, but looked up at her mother with a convincing, yet fake smile. "Yeah…I guess you could say that."

Their brief conversing was cut off as King Alexander brought his hands together and released a loud clap.

"Alright everyone! No more fooling around! It's time to get right to planning!"

…

* * *

The past day, Ash had sat miserably in his prison cell moping about how much he missed home…and most importantly…his beloved Princess.

Oh how she would freak if she found he would go missing. They probably would never even find him nor bother to waste their time to look.

"Hey! Kid!"

His trance was rudely broken as he turned his head to the prison cell right across from him.

"Can I help you?"

The man behind the bars gave Ash an amusing expression. He had a long shaggy beard, brownish torn clothing, and dusty brown boots. In conclusion, he looked like he hadn't shaved nor bathed for years. "I couldn't help but notice you space out there sonny…what are you in here for anyway?"

"Falling in love with the princess," Ash plainly stated.

"Tough luck lad. You know it was my wish that my son would be wed to the princess too."

The man's previous statement intrigued the Kanto prince. "Oh really? What is your son's name?"

"I don't know," He answered with a sigh.

Ash tilted his head. "What do you mean…you don't know?"

"You see…my son was the prince of Kanto, whilst I used to be the King of Kanto…"

Ash abruptly cut him off. "Y-You're the KING OF KANTO?"

"Is there a problem, young lad?"

Ash's eyes widened in shock. "Dad?"

The man chuckled. "I understand you've might've gone insane being locked up here and all…but I think you've got the wrong man son. You're not my child."

"N-No. My name is Ash Ketchum. The prince of Kanto!"

It was now the man's turn to become wide eyed. "You? The prince of Kanto? It couldn't be!"

Ash and Giovanni both ran up to the front of their cells.

Father and son continued to stare at each other in shock when Ash broke the silence first. "My mother…Delia has told me you were d-dead."

Giovanni became teary eyed. "Oh my… son…even though I haven't been there to see the birth of you…I can tell you've really grown up."

"Dad…What happened those years?" Ash pleadingly asked. He wanted to know everything of what happened the day his father "died."

….

"Ash? That's your name?"

He nodded. "Yes…that's what mother named me."

"That's a very fine name…but while we're here…I think I should tell you of what happened."

The raven haired boy eagerly nodded and awaited for his father to tell him of the real story behind his past.

* * *

**(Flashback…17 years ago)**

…

…..

….

…..

"This is over Giovanni! You're kingdom's dead, your spirit is dead…and now…you will be dead."

"This isn't over yet Alexander! My son will grow up and take over my place as a king while he marries the Princess of Hoenn," Giovanni said, with his hand to his forehead.

King Alexander gave an amused smirk as he thrust the blade of his sword into Giovanni's stomach. Even though most would suspect the strike would kill anyone, it had hit in a harmless area.

By this time, Giovanni dropped to his knees and landed head first in a small pool of blood.

The Johto King withdrew his sword into his sheath and walked away from the Kanto King, who was left unconscious with one hand over his wound. The only catch…was Giovanni was wise enough to wear a chest plate under his tunic. This special king steel chest plate of his was the savior of his life. Just barely penetrating the suit of armor, the sword was capable of piercing the armor, drawing blood, but enough to save the person behind the defense.

…

A small amount of time had passed and King Giovanni woke up from his temporary unconsciousness. The moment his eyes shot open, he had seen his kingdom completely destroyed with only particles of ashes being carried by the wind.

The Kanto kingdom was completely empty now. Everyone there had either fled, captured, or had been killed by the mass destruction of the Johto armies.

Giovanni began to slowly crawl away from the kingdom before slowly rising to his feet, only one thought running in his mind. "Is his family okay?"

He no time to think of that. He had to find them…but how? They could've been anywhere by this time. For all he could know…they could've been killed. But he couldn't think like that. He had to think positive thoughts if he wanted to find them safe and sound.

Giovanni went into a full sprint through the forests of his mainland looking for a single sign of life. But minutes of walking turned into hours and then hours turned into a couple of hours as he made his way to the Johto Kingdom. It was suicide to go into enemy territory alone, but he was desperate to look for his family.

Soon enough, Giovanni arrived to King Alexander's kingdom, but he was exhausted. Hours of walking with no food and water weren't exactly as easy as it sounds.

The first step he had made into the kingdom and he was immediately arrested by a group of knights. Tugging, pulling, and beating the back of his head, he was dragged into the castle, where he was violently thrown into a cell block.

Back then…the people of Johto were much more hostile than the present time. Any unwelcomed guests were treated poorly and thrown into the dark depths of the dungeon, where they would live the rest of their life in hell. Those committed horrible crimes would sometimes be left there to rot and die.

….

Giovanni had been extremely lucky at the time. With all of the blood, sweat stains, and his dirty face…he was almost unrecognizable to the Johto knights, so it was kind of understandable how cruel the people of Johto were to a stranger like him.

Over the course of time, everyone in that kingdom seemed to become a bit less cruel since the Kanto Kingdom was now no longer a threat to them with Giovanni gone. The two kingdoms being rivals…the two constantly completed with one another, but after the destruction of Kanto…the Johto kingdom lived in peace. Little did they know, a small handful of the Kanto people had survived, but a huge population of them had been captured or killed in the war.

So over the years…Giovanni lived under the Johto Kingdom with his appearance slowly beginning to change. Instead of being the handsome man in a suit of armor…he had changed into a long bearded man with a bad sense of clothing fashion.

It was surprising how King Alexander never discovered the King of Kanto to be alive all of these years…in his own kingdom!

However it wasn't always easy to be incognito for Giovanni. Instead of going by his birth name, he went by the name of James, a peasant in order to avoid being killed.

And it wasn't exactly pleasant to live his new life either. Every day he had been locked up in the dungeon with very little to eat and drink. It was a terrible life to be living…not just for a king…but for everyone as well. Here in the same dungeon he dwelled for over a decade.

* * *

**(Flashback end)**

"I can't believe I'm finally seeing you now, dad…"

"Neither can I son. I would hug you now, but we're behind bars from each other, so I can't really do that," He chuckled.

Ash laughed along with him before his dad's face became serious again. "What about the princess? Did you ever get close to her?"

"Yes. I'm her personal guardian, but the King sent his knights to lock me up down here."

"And? Has she gotten married to the Johto Prince?"

"I have no idea. But I suspect that he will be proposing to her soon."

Giovanni seemed to be in deep thought. "Ok...the waiting period for a wedding between a prince and princess is usually around a couple of weeks, so we still have time…"

"Time? Time for what?"

"To stop the wedding."

"How are you going to do that? If we interrupt a wedding like that, we'll be killed in cold blood. Suicide if I were to say."

"This is exactly why we're going to prepare an army for war."

"Father…why exactly would you want to stop the wedding?"

"Son…do you love the Princess? And I need you to be honest with me." Giovanni asked his son cautiously.

The Kanto prince blushed and slowly nodded, admitting that he in fact, has fallen in love with the princess.

Giovanni only smiled in response. "Then it will be my honor to arrange the wedding for you and the princess instead."

Ash sent a smile back. "Thanks father."

"You're welcome son…for now, just follow my lead."

Giovanni brought his index finger and thumb to his mouth and let out a loud wolf whistle.

Soon enough, one Johto knight had come into the dungeon to investigate what the noise was all about.

…

"Who made that sound?"

Giovanni raised his hand. "Me."

The knight walked over to Giovanni. "What do you want?"

"This."

The former Kanto king grabbed the knight through the cell and slammed his hand into the cell gate with all of his strength.

The blow smashed the knight's helmet, making him crumble to the floor, helplessly. Once the knight fell unconscious, Giovanni got to his knees and reached for the keys on the knight.

"Rats! My arm isn't long enough to reach!" Giovanni shouted in anger.

"Use his sword to bring the keys closer," Ash suggested.

His father seemed to perk up at the idea and slowly reached out for the sword strapped to the knight's hip.

"I got it!" Giovanni celebrated.

Ash grinned. "Good. Now use it to get the keys."

This was exactly what Giovanni did as he used the blade of the sword to slide it through the key and bring it towards him.

Sliding the key through the bars of the cell, he took the keys and unlocked the door.

"Good work father. Now get me the hell out of here!"

Giovanni slightly chuckled. "Sure thing son. Just give me a second."

After Giovanni inserted the key into the lock of Ash's cell, it unlocked, leaving Ash free.

The Kanto prince and former king eagerly walked out of the dungeon and began to discuss a segment of their plan.

…

"Ok son…the first act of the plan is to go to the Kanto Kingdom, but first…we have to sneak out of the castle."

"Ok…but how are we going to do that? This place is filled with guards," Ash questioned.

"Just follow my lead."

The raven haired prince shook his head. "Whatever you say."

Ash and Giovanni stealthily walked through the kingdom, but also to make sure they didn't get caught by any of the Johto knights.

After the two walked around a corner of the castle, they stopped themselves at a hallway which was guarded by two knights. Both had their backs facing towards them and a spear in one of their hands.

"Great. What do we do now?" Ash whispered.

"We take them out silently. I get the one on the left; you get the one on the right."

Ash nodded. "After you, father."

Giovanni quietly walked up to the knight before jumping up and wrapping one arm around his neck, following it with a knee in the back of his leg, dropping him off balance.

Ash followed the same action only with the other knight. Wrapping one around the man's neck and then dropping him off balance with a knee to the back of his leg.

"Ok…now that that's done, what do we do with the bodies? We can't just leave them out in the open."

Giovanni thought about it for a moment, before replying. "We hide them in that room over there," He said, pointing to a tall double door right beside them.

"How do you know there's nobody behind that door?"

He chuckled. "Son…I've been hundreds of times. I know this place front and back."

Ash smirked. "Let's do it then."

The duo dragged the two fallen knights and carelessly threw them in the empty room.

"We're good. Let's get out of this hellhole now."

"Never thought you'd say that father."

With more sneaking around and silently taking out more knights, they finally made their way to a clearing outside of the kingdom.

"We're out now…but how in the world will we arrive to the Kanto kingdom?" Giovanni thought out loud.

"I've got it father," Ash replied, wolf whistling.

On cue, Ash's Charizard had flown down to the two men. Still being in the Johto Kingdom before Ash's disappearance, the fire dragon was still around to take his master back to the kingdom.

"Wow son. Is that your dragon?"

"Yeah…but dad? Shouldn't we go back to Hoenn? King Norman and the princess must be waiting on us."

"No son…we need to go back to Kanto first. After all…it would defeat the purpose if we went to Hoenn."

Ash sighed, but agreed to his father's decision. "Ok, let's go."

The duo quickly hopped on the back of the dragon before heading off to the Kanto Kingdom.

* * *

After a couple of hours of being airborne, Charizard slowly began to land in the Kanto kingdom.

"Thanks Charizard!" Ash said to his fire dragon, petting him on the head.

Charizard shut his eyes in content and nuzzled into his master. "Char!"

Giovanni smiled at the scene. "That's a great dragon you've got there Ash. How on earth did you get him?"

"It's quite a long story…but some knights had arrested this poacher that went by the name of Hunter. After they arrested him, they claimed a mysterious egg from him. They had no idea what to do with the egg, so they gave it to my mother. As I began to grow older, my mom and I raised him until he eventually grew into this fire dragon. Ever since then…the two of us formed a strong bond. Isn't that right Charizard?"

"Char!" It cried in agreement.

Giovanni's smile grew even wider. "That's very touching to hear…but for now, I'd suggest we'd head into the castle. We don't want to waste any more of our precious time."

"Of course. "Charizard, we'll be right back, alright?"

"Char! Charizard!" It said before flying off.

* * *

As they began walking, they arrived at the front gate of their kingdom which was guarded by two knights.

"Your highness! It's nice to see you've returned, but who's this you've brought along with you?"

Ash opened his mouth to speak. "Knights. This is my father, King Giovanni."

The knights' jaws stood agape at the raven haired boy's words. "You Majesty? Is that really you?"

He nodded. "It is me, young men. I understand I don't look so much like myself, but my personality still remains the same."

"Your Highness. Your Majesty…please step on in. I'm sure everyone would be thrilled to see you once again. Your return is a surprise to all of us."

After an exchange of nods, they had walked into the kingdom. Their next stop would be the castle.

The whole way, Giovanni received odd looks. Not looks of disgust like Ash had received in the Johto Kingdom…but looks of confusion. Many of the people continued to stare at the familiar looking man, but just couldn't quite understand what seemed so familiar about him. Maybe the same shoes? I think not.

Father and son had finally arrived at the castle and walked in. Their next objective being to find the Queen of Kanto. Giovanni's beloved wife and Ash's mother.

After a few minutes of walking around the castle, they finally stopped right in front of the Queen's room.

"Ready, father?"

"Yes, son. I'm ready to meet your mother again."

Ash reached for the door handle and pushed it open, revealing Delia sitting at her chair, talking to one of the servants.

With the two men's presence, Delia looked up. "Ash! You've returned!"

Delia got up and ran to her son, she loved so much, hugging every bit of life left in him.

"M-Mother, y-you're choking m-me," Ash choked out, his face turning various shades of color.

Giovanni chuckled at the scene, watching the interaction between his wife and son.

Immediately, the Queen pulled away from the embrace. "Sorry son…Oh? And I see you've brought a friend along?" She asked, eyeing at the man next to Ash.

"Mom…this isn't any other man…" Ash began.

Delia tilted her head. "Who is this man, Ash?"

Giovanni gulped and spoke up. "Delia…it's me Giovanni."

She shook her head at his statement. "I'm sorry, but my husband has passed away."

"No mom…this is dad…the king of our kingdom. He's told me the real story of the past. He's survived."

Giovanni nodded. "Honey…it's me."

Delia's eyes began to release a stream of tears. "Giovanni! I can't believe you're here!"

She quickly faced her body towards his, as she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, squeezing him closer.

Giovanni also began to sob out of joy. "I can't believe after all this time…I finally get to see my family again. I love you all!" He planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

In response, Delia turned her head to look at Giovanni's, where she and her husband shared a passionate kiss, only found in lovers who haven't seen each other in ages.

Ash turned his head away in disgust. "Gross…"

The older couple separated from their kiss and laughed at their son.

* * *

**There you have it! Chapter 8 to "The Rise of a New King." But don't go anywhere! The story isn't finished yet! :)**

**Leave a review and tell me what you've thought!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hiya everyone. I've had a bit of writer's block with this chapter, but I hope it came out ok. Read and Review!**

***UPDATES* I have just applied myself as a beta reader, so if you have a story that needs some revising, feel free to drop a PM on me because I'm currently taking requests! If you look at my user profile, you'll also notice a poll that I've just opened. Please take the short survey since I'm trying to see what shipping a majority of my readers like :)**

**And a bit of a shout out to my other one shot: "Together We'll Make a Promise." If you haven't checked it out, make sure you do :) I'm thinking about making it into a full story, so tell me what you think! And thank you a bunch to Yeah Her for beta reading this story as well as a few other of my fics :)**

* * *

Chapter 9: Never mess with a Knight

* * *

The now reunited family spent their time talking, retelling of pasts, sharing laughs as a whole, and most importantly…bonding. Even though Giovanni and Ash had only met a few hours ago, they acted as if they knew each other for a lifetime. But…as much as Giovanni wanted to get to know his son better, he had finally decided to talk about more important business.

"Son…I think it's time we talk more about the plan I have created," He strictly stated.

Delia was confused by what her husband said. "What plan, Giovanni?"

"To get Ash to marry the princess," He replied.

Ash turned bright red at his statement.

"Oh Giovanni. I'm afraid we cannot do that. If Ash were to try to marry the princess, a war would break out between the kingdoms."

The whole time he didn't take his eyes off his wife. "Exactly."

Delia went wide eyed. "Giovanni…you can't be serious…Ash? Would you really want to risk the lives of thousands of innocent lives just to marry the princess?"

"As much as I would hate to risk men's lives…I have fallen in love with the princess, and I will do whatever it takes," said Ash, his crimson face never changing colors.

"But how would you do that?"

Ash was about to answer his mother, but was abruptly cut off by his father.

"He becomes the King of Kanto."

This made Ash beyond surprised. Surely he would think Giovanni would rule the kingdom for an ambush on the Johto kingdom, but for him to become king…that would be insane.

"WHAT? Me the king? But I have no experience or the leadership for it!" Ash protested.

Giovanni put a hand on his shoulder. "Son…I believe you do have what it takes to become king. You're very loyal, strong, and wise. Everything fit for a king."

"But-what about y-you?"

"No need my son. I believe my time as king is coming to an end. Besides…you're old enough to rule a kingdom."

"What about my lack of experience?"

"No need to worry. I will teach you to become one of the finest of kings over the weeks. We shall find out when the wedding is and then our plan will be put into action then."

Ash hesitantly began to ponder the idea, before slowly nodding. "If the princess and I will come out of it happy. Then…I'll do it."

Giovanni grinned. "I assure you it will. We'll arrange a coronation as soon as possible."

* * *

**(Johto Kingdom)**

That day, the Maples and LaRousses continued to plan the wedding as if there was no tomorrow. Servants were running everywhere, scrolls flying everywhere, and Drew and May "bonding" with one another.

…

"May? Where are you going?"

"Get away from me, Drew!"

"But we have to plan the wedding! It's in 2 weeks!"

May shut herself inside one of the Johto rooms, refusing to talk or even see Drew. She couldn't take any more of this hell. All she wanted to do was to see her beloved prince again, but she couldn't. He was dead and there was nothing she could've done about it.

"…Ash. I love you."

* * *

**(Kanto Kingdom)**

Right after briefly discussing their plan to crown Ash a king, Giovanni went to shave, bathe, and change into some better clothes.

"Ash, can I speak to you?"

"Sure mom. What's on your mind?"

Delia looked at her son hesitantly before speaking. "Are you sure you're ready to be crowned a king? I mean…it's a huge responsibility looking after a kingdom."

"Yes mother. Although I have no prior experience, I feel as though I can rule the kingdom well enough."

She nodded. "Good. I just had to make sure you knew what you were doing."

Ash in response smiled at his mother's antics and began to faintly hear footsteps drawing near on them.

After Ash took a short peek over his shoulder, he immediately did a double take. Right behind him was none other than his father, Giovanni. Instead of the dirty prisoner look, he now looked like a very handsome, well groomed man.

"…Dad? Is that you?" Ash asked.

"What? Do I not look good well groomed?"

Ash shook his head. "It's not that. Y-You just look normal."

Delia giggled with her soon and moved up to give Giovanni a peck on the cheek.

"Ash…we've decided to crown you a king as early as possible. So tonight…the coronation will take place."

"What about the Johto prince and the Hoenn Princess' marriage? When will that be?"

"You see Ash…I had some people go and eavesdrop on the LaRousses while they were out and they've managed to hear that the marriage will take place in exactly two weeks."

"2 weeks? I was expecting it to be longer," Ash said.

"I did too. At least a month…but I suppose Alexander is eager to crown his son a king."

Ash scoffed. "I bet."

Giovanni placed one hand over his son's shoulder. "So son…you have a speech planned for the coronation?"

The kanto native gulped. "S-Speech?"

Night had eventually come for the Ketchum's. Delia and Giovanni gathered all of the civilians of Kanto outdoors, while Ash was prepping himself for the coronation. He had still worn the Aura Guardian outfit since he thought it "suited" him. After brushing off his clothes and standing up from a seat, he walked out of the castle to greet all of the Kanto natives.

The second he stepped out of the castle, he had seen a huge crowd in front of him along with his parents. Apparently, news had spread quickly that the king's son was to be crowned a king…so that's what the excitement had been about.

Ash gulped and nervously walked over to the crowds. On each side of him were his parents. All of them facing the audiences eyeing them down like vipers. Or so that's what Ash was thinking.

"Attention everyone! As you may already know…this here is my son, Ashton Ketchum. And as some of you might've guessed, I'm afraid my service as King has come to an end. Therefore…I feel as if now is the right time to pass my title to my son. I believe he will make an excellent king and hopefully rule the kingdom with peace and quiet."

Giovanni gently nudged Ash's arm to signal him to give his speech.

At this point, Ash was beyond nervous. He was ok with talking to groups of people…but talking to a whole kingdom was beyond his personal comfort zone. Swallowing the lump down his throat, Ash stepped up to the audience.

"H-Hello everyone. I'm Ashton Ketchum, the prince of Kanto…and as a king…my goal won't be to order everyone around. I mean…that is my job as a king…but I would like you all to think of me as another civilian of Kanto. I will do my absolute best in service of a king and I hope that all of you have belief in me like you have for my father. Thank you all."

The whole kingdom roared with cheers. The men with "Yeah!" and the women with "Awesome! Make me your wife now!"

Giovanni chuckled amusingly at the crowd, while Ash on the other hand…was being his nervous self.

The former king then walked over to Ash, so that he was face to face with his own son. Now was the time to pass his crown.

"Son…I'm granting you the crown of Kanto. Make sure you always use it right."

Ash nodded and removed his pointy dark blue hat, whilst bowing his head.

Giovanni took his cue to remove the crown from his head, take a moment to look at it, and then placing it over his son's head.

"Now that we have a crown on you…I think it's time we get you a true king's attire."

Ash slightly gasped. "What's wrong with my clothes now?"

His father scoffed. "Just look at the clothing your wearing now! If an assassin were to fire a single arrow at you, you'd be long dead."

"B-But I'm the king now! So I don't require to wear it!" He desperately protested.

"Now, don't get ahead of yourself son. I'm just trying to protect you from potential dangers."

Ash dropped his arms in defeat and let out an audible sigh. "Fine…"

Giovanni smirked. "That's my boy. Now let's go find you something to wear."

* * *

**(Johto Kingdom)**

"Father. I'm heading out of the kingdom and I'm NOT bringing Drew!"

"But May…please take Drew along with you…I mean…he is your fiancé."

May groaned. "Why can't he stay here to help plan the wedding with you guys instead?"

"Maybelle…he's done enough help for now. Now please…you two go and enjoy yourselves."

"Fine…"

Instead of grabbing Drew's attention to go with her, May just walked past her father and left the castle. This, unfortunately grabbed Drew's attention, causing him to go after her.

Norman just shook his head and went along with his business to help plan the wedding.

"Maybelle! You wanted to spend the rest of the night with me?" He asked in a flirty way.

May sighed at his lame pickup lines. "Shut up. I'd rather be alone right now."

Drew winked and gave a knowing look to her. "…Oh! I see. You'd rather be alone…with me!"

The princess facepalmed, but Drew couldn't stop talking. "Watch this."

Drew walked over to a crowd of people who were all huddled up to watch yet another duel between two knights.

May slowly walked over to the crowd and peered through a gap watching two knights swing at each other.

The scene made her slightly tear up. It had reminded her of the day when she had met Ash and being here without him…

Her thoughts of a certain prince were interrupted once hearing her name being called.

"May! Over here!"

May looked up to see Dawn eagerly waving to her, attempting to gain her attention.

"Dawn!"

The two girls then ran over to each other and embraced each other in a tight embrace.

"Dawn what are you doing out here so late?"

"I actually came here with Kenny. But boy I have great news for you!"

On cue, a brunette haired boy in a traditional knight's armor came up to greet her. "Hello, I'm Kenny."

May nodded and held her hand out for a handshake. "Nice to meet you Kenny. Now what was the news you wanted to tell me Dawn?"

"Kenny and I are together now!" She squealed.

May put on a fake smile. "That's great Dawn. I'm so happy for you."

The new couple connected each other's lips in a long passionate kiss, before the two were forced to separate for air. Dawn took one casual look to her friend slightly frowned at her behavior.

"Is there something the matter May? You don't seem like yourself."

"It's Ash…he's d-dead."

Her longtime friend gasped. "D-Dead?! May! I'm so sorry!"

She wiped a tear from her eye and smiled disappointedly at her friend. "Thanks Dawn…I-I just cared for him so much…"

The two friends hugged each other once again, while Kenny gave May a sad, reassuring smile.

…

"Hey…you!"

The trio looked up to see Drew with his arms crossed, flicking his hair arrogantly.

Kenny had a confused look on his face. "Are you talking to me?"

"Yeah! I challenge you to a duel!"

Kenny looked at Dawn and saw her nod approvingly.

"Alright…I accept your challenge."

Dawn and May watched as Kenny and Drew stepped opposite to one another, removing their swords from their hips.

Others around had formed a huge crowd around the two younger boys, interested to see what the outcome of this would be.

….

After a brief silence, Kenny made the first move to attack. He twirled his sword in swift motions and then slashing at Drew with the last twirl.

In defense, Drew brought his sword up to successfully block the attack, followed up with a slash right down at Kenny.

Kenny immediately brought his sword up to block the attack, which then resulted in the two boys pushing their swords down on each other to gain the advantage. With a bunch of grunts and snarls to each other, Drew broke away from the contact, stepping back a few steps.

Kenny did the same as Drew. Stepping back a few steps and then gripping tightly onto his sword in both hands.

The brunette and green haired opponents stared competitively at each other, neither breaking their focus from each other's eyes.

All of the concentration in the night added a whole lot more suspense to the audience watching intently to each move the boys made.

Unexpectedly, Kenny released one hand on his sword, drew his arm back and hurled his sword straight at Drew. Once doing this, he charged in on the Johto prince with his bare fists.

Drew swiped the airborne sword, before being tackled to the ground by Kenny. The sudden attack forced Drew to release his sword as well…leaving both boys in a fistfight.

Now this had gotten a whole lot more interesting for the crowd. Surely they were expecting a swordfight, but a fistfight between a prince and a knight was so much more hardcore!

On the dead grass, the two opponents were grappling fiercely. Kenny had pinned Drew to the ground and threw a punch to his face.

Drew brought his hand up and blocked the punch from coming into contact with his face, thus throwing Kenny's body off of his. Drew crawled over to Kenny and pinned him to the ground, managing to punch his face only once.

The knight winced from the pain, and forcefully pushed Drew off of him. Once he stood up, the two engaged in a REAL hand to hand fight.

Drew charged in with a punch to Kenny, who blocked it by gaining a grip onto Drew's arm, kneeing him in the stomach.

Now, the girls would've stopped the fight eventually, but the entertainment stopped them from doing so. It also made May happy seeing Drew being beaten the snot out of and Dawn happy to see her man win.

After Kenny's knee came into contact with Drew's stomach, Kenny pushed Drew back slightly, then throwing a crescent kick to his face.

The powerful kick knocked Drew down to the ground…but he wasn't done just yet.

Kenny began walking over to Drew to finish him off, before Drew kicked him the gut. Kenny clutched at his side to ease the pain, but Drew threw another kick to Kenny knocking him down.

The knight and Johto prince hurriedly scrambled to their feet in order to finish their fight.

After Drew wiped some blood off of his face, he charged at Kenny with a closed fist, which he failed to do so. Kenny blocked the hit from causing him any more pain and elbowed him in the face.

Once Kenny's elbow flew across the prince's face, he gripped ahold of Drew's shoulders and kneed him once again in the stomach. Right after his knee attack, Kenny finished his opponent off with a final kick to the gut, knocking him off his feet.

With one satisfied smirk from Kenny and cheers from around the crowd…Kenny went over to retrieve his sword, placing the blade into his sheath.

"Never mess with a knight," He said in a cool tone.

Drew lifted his head from the grass before it fell straight back down, causing him to shut his eyes in pain. "…Ouch. May! A little help here?"

"Humph," She said, crossing her arms.

Kenny and Dawn walked over to May, hand in hand. And just as May was about to open her mouth to speak, Kenny beat her to it.

"Sorry I kinda…beat up your fiancé," He sheepishly said.

May smiled to Kenny. "Don't worry about it. He kinda needed it too."

Dawn giggled at May's statement, before giving her a sad smile. "We've got to get going May. We're very sorry about Ash, but if you need anything…just talk to us, okay?"

Kenny nodded in agreement, while May gave a teary, appreciative nod to both of them. "Thank you guys…but I better get going too. My father must be getting worried about me by now."

The couple took their cue to leave as well as May who said one last thing to her "Drew."

"Get up Drew. You got a long while ahead of you, and sitting on your lazy ass isn't helping."

Drew smirked before wincing from the pain shooting through his body. "She….wants….me…"

* * *

**Short chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it. :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**No new updates as of now. Just that I'm thinking about making: "Together We'll Make a Promise" a full story after I'm done with this fic. Tell me what you think!**

**And if haven't taken a vote in my poll… please visit my profile page and take some spare time to vote. No worries, I won't hold the story hostage. Just saying that a single vote from you will make my day :)**

* * *

Chapter 10: Wedding's off, Bucko

* * *

**(****Weeks later)**

The two weeks went by slowly for Ash and May. Each day, May was forced to spend her time with Drew, even going as far as sleeping in the same bed with him at night. Those nights were the worst for her. How he would try to force her into doing things she wasn't ready for or how he would just be his regular arrogant flirty self.

But…Drew wasn't the only problem for May. She also had to deal with Ash's death. Every day she just couldn't stop thinking about him…no matter what. After many of her desperate attempts to get her mind straight, she just couldn't…he would always pop up in her mind and there was nothing she could do about it.

The past days and weeks, she had done nothing but help with the wedding and being forced to bond with Drew.

So here she was now…at her wedding.

Although her wedding wouldn't start for another few hours, her parents still requested of her to get ready. Instead of wearing something casual like she was hoping to…she wore a long white wedding dress. So long in fact, that it dragged along the floor, but she didn't mind. It was the least of worries after all weren't it?

May stared aimlessly at the mirror in front of her as her bridesmaid; Dawn Berlitz helped her in readying herself.

"You look beautiful May," Dawn smiled, handing her a bouquet.

After May unemotionally took the flowers from her friend, she let out a deep sigh. "Thanks Dawn."

"No problem May. The wedding will begin in a little while, so just sit tight here, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

* * *

**(Kanto Kingdom)**

"Father!"

Giovanni poked his head through a corner and into the king's room, where Ash sat in his prestigious seat.

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"Please don't call me that father…when are we going to Hoenn? The wedding is occurring in a few hours!"

Giovanni once again bowed. "I apologize your Majesty. The armies are all ready and are already heading to Hoenn on horseback. May I escort you to Hoenn on your dragon? I believe it to be the quickest route."

Ash mentally facepalmed with his father's stubbornness. "Very well then. May our trip occur as soon as possible."

He smirked. "Now's a good time."

Ash sent his father one of his own maniac grins. "I agree."

While all of the Kanto knights and mercenaries were riding to Hoenn on horseback under the King's command for war, Ash and his father rode on the back of Charizard. Giovanni on the back while Ash took the front, navigating his fire dragon along the winds of the kingdoms.

* * *

**(Johto Kingdom)**

"May…it's time."

The princess and soon to be queen averted her gaze up to Dawn, who was gesturing for her to follow.

"Come on. The wedding is going to happen any minute now."

May nervously nodded and stood up to follow closely behind her friend.

Time seemed to stop as May neared the church, where her fiancé along with everyone else was patiently awaiting her arrival. Once the two girls pushed the double doors open, everyone immediately stood up to acknowledge the bride's presence.

Dawn bravely lead May through the crowd of guests. To the left of her were May's family as well as some of the Hoenn natives and knights.

Averting her gaze to the opposite direction were all of the LaRousse family and pretty much all of the Johto natives.

Swallowing the rest of her courage and wiping some sweat dripping from her face like bullets, May stood opposite to Drew. Next to him was his best man, which was none other than King Alexander himself. He stood there with a proud, yet devious smirk on his face once May took one last look into his cerulean colored eyes.

Once shuddering from his unreadable expression, the priest in the center spoke up. The priest, instead of wearing a modern black and white outfit, wore a plain white tunic.

"Greetings to both the fiancé and fiancées' family as well as the separate kingdoms. I am here to unite our new, soon to be couple in marriage. Not only will they live in eternal happiness, but these young adults will become our new rulers of the Johto Kingdom. King Alexander, you may now pass down the crowns to the couple."

With one nod, King Alexander went over to May and placed one of the crowns he held over his head. The crown he had given her was one only worn by a queen. It was a bright silver crown…not as tall the King's crown, but it was beyond beautiful and pleasing to the eye. May lifted her head once the crown had been set on her head.

Right after, the Johto king went over to his son, to place his own crown over his head. Alexander removed his golden crown from his head and admired its features for a short moment.

On cue, Drew lowered his head to allow the crown to make its place over his oversized grass head.

Releasing his hands from the crown, Alexander stepped back to allow the priest to continue the marriage.

"Now that the crowns have officially made their way to the proper couple…we shall now continue."

Taking a short pause, the priest spoke up once again. "Under the name of Arceus…I pray to you that you will watch over our new rulers. With one last permission…I also beg that our kingdoms may live in forever peace and freedom. Since the rings have already been exchanged…we will now start the real event."

"…Drew LaRousse…do you take Queen May Maple of the Johto Kingdom as your lawfully wedded wife? To love and to cherish her from the moment of the present all the way till your future? To live and to rule your kingdom with her alongside you in peace and harmony?"

Drew responded with almost no doubt whatsoever. "I do."

…

It was now May's turn to answer….but no. She couldn't marry Drew. Not after learning about his true self and hearing from the death of her beloved Ash Ketchum, she couldn't live with herself. She'd rather be dead and spend the rest of time with her raven haired guardian. Because he was the one she truly loved. She always has…and always will.

"…May Maple…do you take King Drew LaRousse of the Johto Kingdom as your lawfully wedded husband? To love and to cherish him from the moment of the present all the way till your future? To live and to rule your kingdom with him alongside you in peace and harmony?"

"I…don't….no. I do not."

The priest arched his neck as if he hadn't heard her properly. Her few words shocked the whole room. How could she not marry the prince of their kingdom? None of them would ever know.

"I'm sorry?" The priest asked.

May went teary eyed. "I said no…I couldn't love him."

"May! What are you doing!" Her father shouted, attempting to knock her back to her senses.

She turned to him and hurled the bouquet to the ground. "You heard me! I said no because I'm in love with someone else!"

With silence filled in the room…everyone gaped at the new queen's sudden scene. Even Drew stood wide eyed, starting to get the hint that she truly didn't want him. This thought only infuriated him.

Her father stared at her like he had seen a ghost. "Who is it—"

_Crash!_

Just like that, everyone's attention was fixed on where the noise was coming from. Everyone's eyes shot open seeing a group of knights and what seemed like a young man standing in front of them.

In front of all the knights was none other than the new King of Kanto, Ashton Ketchum. He was currently wearing what seemed to be a knight's armor. However, this was no regular knight's armor. It was completely covered in gold and on the back was a long red cape. The armor he was wearing looked so powerful, yet so elegant.

With Ash, he was currently carrying many weapons. A long metal blade sword strapped to his hip, several daggers in his pouch, a bow and arrow slung over his shoulder, and a flintlock pistol strapped to his other side.

"Who are you!" Alexander demanded. "You will pay for interrupting a wedding!"

Ash slowly lifted his golden helmet up to reveal his handsome, matured face, stunning the women and making the males jealous in the room.

The new king's presence shocked her. The Ash she once knew seemed so different. His face sounded more rough and deep, but attractive, he looked better toned, his face seemed more mature, and he looked more handsome in his golden armor.

"I…am Ashton Ketchum. The King of Kanto and I demand of this marriage to be cancelled."

Drew clenched his teeth and yelled at the Kanto King. "This is against the agreement between the Kanto and Johto kingdoms! You will be killed against your own will for this!"

Ash smirked. "Like how you tried to kill me back in Hoenn? Abandoning the agreement first and trying to rid me from marrying the princess?"

Drew's face turned pale. "You can't prove anything!"

"Those were Johto knights that tried to kill me. I interrogated one of them and they said that they worked for Johto. The armor was also a dead giveaway."

Alexander shut his eyes at their stupidity. "Bloody hell."

"So…I am asking you once…and once only…for you to hand over the princess and our kingdoms will end in peace. If you decline…then your kingdom and you will be destroyed."

Father and son LaRousse exchanged a glance to each other. "No…" Drew simply answered. "If it's war you want…then so be it."

Ash nodded. "Father. You want to come out?"

All of a sudden, a tall well groomed man revealed himself from the group of knights.

"Alexander. Drew."

"G-Giovanni?! I thought I killed you!"

"That's because I'm a zombie now," Giovanni answered seriously.

"Really? Then I'll make sure to destroy your brain!"

The former Kanto king facepalmed. "That's not the point. I'm alive and ready for anything. So if you want a war…then we'll bring it to you."

Alexander cocked his head in confusion. "What?"

He got cut off right as Ash swiftly threw a dagger at Alexander, hitting him square in the chest.

This caused all of the people to go into panic. Left and right people began running for their lives.

After Alexander came into contact with the carpeted floor, he ripped the dagger from his chest and shouted to one of his messengers.

"Go get more knights…I'm afraid we're outnumbered by now."

His servant nodded nervously and dashed out of the church to retrieve reinforcements.

Just then, guard knights of the Johto Kingdom arrived and charged at the Kanto army, while Drew withdrew his sword and joined the fight.

Right now, war was occurring right in the big church room. Here and there knights fell dead from either fatal sword strikes or assassinations. This was the time when Ash signaled for Charizard to break through the glass window of the church.

Ash jumped onto the back of his Charizard and signaled for one person to come along with him.

May looked up from one of seats in fear and spotted Ash gesturing for her to hop on.

She nervously stood up and ran over to the dragon, jumping on and waiting for takeoff.

The moment they began to fly off, May wrapped her arms over Ash's waist and layed her head gently onto his back, sobbing quietly to herself.

…

While the war had been taking place at the Johto church, Ash had taken May to a safe, secluded area in the Johto Kingdom.

Once Charizard had landed, May got off of Charizard.

"Now…May, you stay here. You'll be safe, but just don't come after me. It's too dangerous."

May looked up at him worriedly. "But what about you Ash? What are you doing?"

"I'm going back to fight my war."

The queen turned wide eyed. "Y-you can't do that Ash! After I heard that were dead…I just couldn't live with myself if I found out you were actually dead…please…don't leave me."

Ash gave her a sad smile and did his best to reassure her. "It's alright May. I promise that you and I can be together once the war is over. But I have to go now. My kingdom needs my assistance."

Right when Ash was about to tell Charizard to return to the battlefield, May captured his mouth in a long, passionate kiss.

The boy's eyes shot wide open, but he immediately shut his eyes and returned the kiss. Innocently slipping his tongue into her mouth, causing May to squeak in surprise, but accepted it and eventually returned the favor.

…

Ash forcefully separated from their kiss making May whine childishly.

"I'll be right back, May."

With that, he took off without saying another word to her.

The brunette haired girl stared into the sky as Ash and his dragon faded into the distance. "Please be alright Ash…"

* * *

The raven haired boy began to get closer to the church. What he instantly noticed was the armies had moved the war to the outdoors, making Ash nervous. He was out in the open, which meant if he was spotted he could be shot down.

His anxious thoughts were cut off when he heard Charizard roar in pain.

Gazing at Charizard's neck, he spotted an ugly looking wound that was gushing with blood.

Charizard had been shot, but before he would worry any further…

_BOOM!_

Another gunshot was heard, followed with a cry from Charizard. Charizard began to fly weakly around the battlegrounds, while Ash hurriedly grabbed his bow.

Swiftly nocking an arrow into the string of the bow, he released it and killed a knight from a long distance.

Doing the same action, he nocked another arrow and shot it at another Johto knight, knocking him off of his feet dead.

He drew another arrow back into bow, but this time…he wasn't so lucky.

_BOOM!_

That was the last sound Ash heard before he found himself crashing down to the ground.

"Oh no…"

With a loud thud, Charizard landed on the ground…dead with Ash on top of him.

Although Charizard wasn't so lucky, he had been the one to break Ash's fall, saving his life.

Ash struggled to get up and regain his sense, then hearing several knights run over to him.

Surrounding him were 4 Johto knights, each of them armed with loaded crossbows.

"Hands behind your back!" One of them ordered.

Ash slowly put his hands behind his back as he began reaching for his remaining throwing daggers. He had 4 left, exactly enough…so he had to make it count.

Sneakily, he gripped onto the hidden daggers and tossed them in each direction at each of the knight's bare necks.

Every single one of them dropped dead, all of the firing crossbow bolts into the air.

Ash dashed out of the danger zone, withdrawing his flintlock pistol.

All around him he saw Johto knights and knights from Kanto. Distinguishing them by their armor, he poured some of his gunpowder into his pistol and aimed it at a knight. Once he pulled the trigger, the knight dropped dead.

Reloading his pistol once again, one of the Johto knights beat him to it and shot him.

Lucky for Ash, the bullet failed to penetrate his upgraded armor, but it was successful in knocking him off balance. The knight ran over to Ash's fallen body and attempted to kill him right there with his sword.

Ash rolled away from the strike and tripped the knight off his feet. Scrambling for his sword, Ash killed the knight right there. The raven haired boy ran across the field to see his father fighting off two knights at once.

Giovanni slashed his sword at the knights who blocked and then moved up to strike. Right there, both knights collapsed to the ground dead.

The former king looked over his shoulder to see his son grin at him with his pistol in his hand.

"It looks like you're a bit rusty on your fighting skills. Don't you think?"

Giovanni playfully glared at his son. "You bet. I haven't fought a war like this since the day the kingdom was destroyed."

Father and son shared a quick laugh before returning to business fighting off the Johto army. A war like this would be hard to gain victory, but Ash was eager to win. The happiness of the princess was all he cared for and he would risk his life just to achieve it.

* * *

**If I'm correct, I'm guessing there will be 2 or 3 more chapters, just depending on how much I end up writing. Nonetheless, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter. Read and Review! Your thoughts are appreciated :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hiya readers! Sad news…this story is coming to an end. Only 1 or 2 more chapters left, but I hope you like it so far!**

**And please take a moment to make a vote in my poll. It's very important that you do! :)**

**And a bit of an author's note…when I say Johto King, I'm now referring to Drew…and when I say Kanto King…I'm referring to Ash. Just saying to clear up any confusions!**

**Read and Review!**

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Chapter 11: And they lived happily ever after

* * *

The past hour, the kingdoms continued to fight and fight. Left and right, knights from both sides have been shot, stabbed, assassinated and crumpled to the ground.

But the war wasn't over yet. Ash and Giovanni had to get rid of Drew and Alexander and that was their number one priority at the moment.

…

…

The Kanto natives ran in search of the two men they longed to kill and eventually found them killing off a couple of Kanto knights.

…

"Alexander!"

The former Johto King turned his head and flashed Giovanni a look of anger and threat, capable of making any person easily wet their trousers.

With nothing said, Giovanni charged straight at Alexander, the two former kings engaging in a fierce sword fight.

On the other hand, Ash was busy taking care of Drew. He quickly raised his pistol and pulled the trigger on Drew.

_Click Click_

"Shit!" Ash screamed. He had run out of ammo, so the only remaining weapons of his were his bow and arrow and sword.

Drew smirked and began to close the distance between him and Ash, slashing his sword at him.

The raven haired king hurriedly pulled out his sword to block the attack coming his way.

The second the two's swords came into contact; it unleashed a screeching sound that sent chills running down the king's backs.

Ash followed up the block with a low strike to Drew's feet, who easily jumped to avoid the attack.

"You bloody monster. You stole my queen away from me…stopped my wedding…and now you're gonna pay!"

Ash grunted at the Johto King's successful slash at his side and launched one of his own attacks, which had tore a piece of Drew's clothing.

Backing away from Ash, Drew examined the piece of torn clothing and growled. "My tunic! That's made from the finest silk in the kingdom!"

Ash laughed. "Then come at me."

With a single scream, Drew charged once again at Ash.

In response, the Kanto king raised his sword to block, but was instead swept off his feet from the blade of Drew's sword.

Once coming into contact with the hard ground, Ash released his sword, now defenseless.

Drew then slashed down at Ash, who raised his arm to block the sword strike.

Lucky for Ash, he was still wearing his enhanced, golden armor making the attack almost worthless.

The raven haired boy smirked as he grabbed the blade of Drew's sword in his other hand and slipped it out of his grip. So here it was now…both boys now defenseless…so guess what kind of match it was now. A fistfight.

The two boys scrambled back to their feet and got into battle stance.

"AH!"

Drew charged up to Ash with a closed fist, attempting to punch the daylights out of him.

Ash ducked the attack and elbowed Drew's side, then sweeping him off of his feet.

Almost instantaneously, Drew used his legs to drop Ash to the ground along with him, which was unfortunately successful for the green haired king.

Drew crawled over to Ash's fallen body only to be met with a kick to his face.

"Ah! Shit!"

Ash quickly crawled over and pinned Drew to the ground preparing to land another hit on him.

Instead, Drew beat him to it. He punched Ash's face making him release his grip on him.

After Drew stood up, he ran over to retrieve one of the flintlock pistols on the battlefield.

Ash swiftly pushed himself off the ground and watched as Drew picked up a pistol from the ground and aimed it at Ash.

Pulling the trigger, Ash got knocked back onto the ground. Although the bullet wasn't fatal, it was enough to give Ash temporary pain.

On his way back, Drew picked up his sword and walked over to Ash, wiping some blood from his cheek with the back of his hand.

Ash forced himself to rise from the ground once again. Once he stood on his two feet, he felt a sharp blade poking at his neck.

Looking up, his eyes met with Drew's green ones. His eyes filled with anger and hatred for the young man that stood before his blade.

"This is the end of you. Kanto monster."

"No…"

Drew looked confused, but the look of hate never leaving his face. "What do you mean…no?"

"I mean…you're going to be the one to die."

"Pfft…Are you pulling my leg? I think it's obvious that I have the advantage here."

Ash shook his head. "Wrong."

With one swift movement, Ash threw his red cape in front of Drew's face, stunning him, temporarily.

After Ash did this, he began to punch Drew with both of his fists as fast as he could in his gut.

With each fist that came into contact with Drew's stomach, he let out short grunts or groans of pain, shutting his eyes to hopefully ease the pain shooting to his stomach.

With one last punch, Ash grabbed ahold of Drew's shoulders and head butted him as hard as he could with his helmet over his face.

The sudden impact of Ash's skull over Drew's was enough to knock the green haired king unconscious, but not enough to kill him.

Ash momentarily turned his head to see Alexander beating his father up. Alas, with one final uppercut from Alexander, he had one foot over his stomach and the blade of his sword over his neck. It was the same scene from all those years ago. If Alexander hadn't been able to kill Ash's father now…he was certainly going to make sure that the job was done now.

Being at a far distance, Ash could faintly hear what Alexander was saying to his father. But it sounded like he was saying things like: "You're weak…you're kingdom is weak…and your son is weak."

Ash quickly reached for his bow and desperately nocked an arrow into the string.

…

Alexander brought his sword up and was about to stab straight through Giovanni's thin body, but felt something poking through his stomach instead.

Looking down, Alexander saw the tip of an arrow poking through the other side of his stomach. His hands weakened on his weapon as he released it onto the dead grass.

_Whoosh!_

Another arrow flew straight at Alexander, piercing the winds at such high power, and then coming into contact with the Johto native's head.

Soon enough, Alexander fell face first into a pool of his own blood.

Gazing to his right, Giovanni saw his son slowly set his bow down with one arrow in his other hand.

Looking behind his son's shoulder he saw what appeared to be a green haired boy about to attack Ash with his sword.

"Son! Look out!"

Ash quickly turned around and stabbed the tip of his arrow through Drew's body. Giving the arrow a quick twist, Drew's mouth stood agape as his body slowly crumpled to the ground.

…

"Thanks…dad."

Giovanni sent his son a sad smile. "You make a fantastic king, son."

Ash shot his father one of his smiles and nodded. "Thank you, father."

Father and son took a look around the battlefield, seeing it occupied with several knights…still alive.

Taking a closer look, Ash squinted his eyes at the group of knights to see that they were all from…Kanto.

They had won. The Johto armies and leaders had all been killed.

…

Giovanni slowly arose from the ground and raised the tip of his sword into the air. "Attention!"

The knights quickly dashed over to King Giovanni to see what he had to say.

"This victory…it's ours."

The remaining number of the Kanto knights let out a cry of victory followed with Giovanni and Ash who did the same.

Everyone shared high fives and chest bumps with one another as they celebrated the victory of their kingdom.

…

Although their war had been won…there was still something that Ash needed to do.

"Father."

The former king turned around to look at his son. "Yes?"

"I'm leaving to go find the Princess…but I promise I'll be here right back with her."

He shook his head. "No need, Ash. We'll just meet you back at the Kingdom instead, alright?"

Ash nodded. "Ok, father. I'll see you there."

"Bye Ash."

Ash walked over to his fire dragon, but quickly remembered. Charizard was dead.

"Ash? You need something?" His father called out to him.

Giovanni walked over to his son to see him staring at something blankly. Taking a peek over his shoulder, he had seen what Ash was so upset about.

"Oh…sorry son."

Ash slowly wiped a tear from his cheek. "My companion…he wasn't only my servant…but he was my best friend too. Now…he's gone."

Giovanni wrapped his arms around Ash's waist, pulling his body towards his, allowing Ash's tears to fall on Giovanni's torn tunic.

"I'm sorry, son."

Ash pushed Giovanni backed lightly. "It's okay, is there something else I can ride on to get to the kingdom?"

He nodded. "You can take one of the horses. You should be back at the kingdom in a few hours by then."

"Okay."

Giovanni wolf whistled and sure enough…one Rapidash showed up.

"See you soon, son," Giovanni said barely above a whisper.

Seeing as his father was slowly walking away, Ash hopped onto the back of his mount.

Taking one last look at his dragon, the following words escaped his mouth. "Goodbye…old friend."

May sat innocently in the corner of an alleyway, growing anxious over each moment that passed with a million thoughts and questions running her mind. "Is he okay? Should I've gone with him? Was it good that I stayed? Did Drew kill him?"

She sighed helplessly as cool breezes brushed gently across her face, which seemed to relax her a bit.

In between breezes, more thoughts ran through her head. "Oh where was he now? Would he be ok? Probably not…since she head those galloping horse sounds. Wait…galloping?"

Her sea, ocean eyes stared in all directions hopefully catching where the sound was coming from. But to no use…she couldn't see nor hear anything.

She dug her face into her hands as she moped over the Kanto King.

_Gallop Gallop Gallop_

There it was again! Now she was sure she wasn't crazy…but oh well…The sound was probably just in her head.

"May?"

She quietly gasped as she looked up at the golden armored King. "Ash?"

He returned their private reunion with a smile and a short nod. "Yeah."

She ran over to him and hugged him, while he still sat on the Rapidash.

Ash smiled to himself as he spoke. "You want to hop on?"

May eagerly nodded her head as Ash helped her up onto the flamed horse. Wrapping her arms securely around Ash's waist they took off.

And in the same corner of where May previously sat…was her silver queen crown she had gotten during the marriage. Sitting there in the dust to rot.

* * *

**(Kanto Kingdom)**

It had been several hours of horseback riding and the teenage couple were exhausted.

They had each taken occasional breaks, but it was not enough. The second they jumped off of the Rapidash, they both walked in the direction of the castle.

…

Upon their arrival, they were instantly greeted with Delia and Giovanni as well as the remaining knights and civilians.

"Ash! You're back!"

Ash slightly gasped as soon as his mother enveloped him in another one of her bone crushing hugs.

After a weak attempt to speak. "Mom…you're hugging…me…too hard," He squeaked.

His mother still remained in the hug, only loosening her grip causing Ash to gasp out of breath.

In the back, the whole room erupted in laughter seeing Ash's face turn a variety of colors.

Finally breaking from her hug, Delia spoke up. "Who's up for dinner?"

The whole room exclaimed in cheers as the huge feast was getting prepared.

…

As celebration from the war…The whole Kanto Kingdom had a large feast for their outstanding victory.

Everyone there had ate and ate…but not as quickly as a certain pair of teenagers who were stuffing themselves like there was no tomorrow.

This pair was none other than…Ash and May.

Everyone sweatdropped as they watched in fear as nearly half of the food went down the teen's bodies. How could a couple of kids eat that much at that pace? Nobody would ever know.

…

As night soon arrived for the Kingdom, the food had been long gone. People started to go their separate ways. But Ash…he was currently having an internal debate that he wished to discuss with his father.

"Dad?"

Ash's father looked up from the sword he was currently polishing and urged his son to finish speaking. "Yes?"

"I want to marry the Queen."

The words that had escaped from his son's mouth had caught his father off guard. "That quick? If so…what seems to be the problem?" He asked.

"I don't have a ring."

Giovanni nodded his head in understanding. "I see…here. You can use this."

He dug into his pocket, revealing a silver ring to his son.

"W-Where did you get this?" Ash stuttered, taking the ring from his hands.

"Well…before you were born…I purchased the ring just in case you ever got married."

Ash continued to stare at it in awe. "It's beautiful…"

"It's all yours son," He winked.

Ash walked over to May, where she was currently sitting at one of the dining room tables.

"M-May?"

She looked up and smiled. "Hi Ash. What is it?"

"It's been over a little while since I've first met you and I just wanted to say that those days were some of the best of my life."

May's smile got even wider. "Thank you Ash. I enjo-"

"Shh…Allow me to finish," He said, placing a finger over her mouth.

As he pulled his finger away from her…she eagerly nodded and allowed him to continue.

However, the two were completely oblivious to the fact that they were being watched by practically everyone in the kingdom. Everyone, but Giovanni were needless to say, surprised by what Ash was doing.

"But as time passed…we not only became the best of friends…but we also confessed our secret love for each other. Not the love found in friends…but the love found in lovers. Us. So May? I know you've had a rough time with the Johto prince, but I promise that I'll love you with all my heart. May Maple…Will you marry me?" Ash asked pulling out the ring.

May gasped once her eyes fixed themselves on the silver ring before her. Without even thinking, she said the first thing that came to her mind. "Yes! Yes Ash! I will marry you!"

Ash's heart swelled once hearing those words leave her mouth. He then slipped the ring over her finger and then spun her, followed with a dip.

May gasped as her body began to fall, but Ash's arms safely caught her.

Leaning in…he placed his lips over hers in a long passionate kiss earning loud cheers from all around the room.

…

Slowly raising her back to her feet, May smiled lovingly at Ash. "I love you, Ash."

Ash smiled back and leaned in to place a short, sweet kiss on her lips. "I love you too May. I always have and always will."

"How sweet! My son is getting married!" Delia squealed giddily.

"Congratulations, son," Giovanni said with a grin.

Ash in turn gave a short nod to his father. "Thank you, father."

"My…preparations must be made at once!" Delia shouted, running out of the room.

Everyone sweatdropped, all in the while Ash and May shared another passionate kiss…which officially sealed their new relationship…as a married couple.

…

…

…

**(One month later)**

A month had gone by since Ash's proposal and the kingdom lived in peace and freedom. Over the time, Hoenn and Kanto expanded their kingdom into Johto where they all lived together. In their giant kingdom were two castles. One with the Kanto leaders and the other with the Hoenn leaders.

Ever since…the couple had been living happier than ever over the month. Unlike Drew, May loved spending her days with her fiancé and didn't even mind sharing a bed with him at night.

…

So here was her second attempt at a wedding. She stared happily at the mirror in front of her as her friend and bridesmaid, Dawn Berlitz helped her get ready.

May was wearing the same dress as she had last time, except her face seemed more beautiful without dried tears or that depressed look of hers. She was in the best mood of her life getting married to the man of her dreams.

Once Dawn handed May the bouquet, she whispered. "Good luck."

May smiled and walked with her friend down the aisle of the church the wedding was currently taking place at.

Turning her head to one side were all of the Kanto natives, while the other had all of the Hoenn natives.

Waving to her parents, she then averted her gaze to the man she was soon to be married to.

Rather than the aura guardian outfit and golden knight armor…Ash actually looked pretty nice. He was currently wearing a dark blue tunic with his well-known sword secured to his hip.

Behind him was his father and best man, Giovanni Ketchum. Giovanni had worn a dark brown cloak similar to Ash's and he too had a sword strapped to his side.

May, a bit nervous now had walked opposite to Ash and sent him a quick smile, which her fiancé gladly returned.

…

This was when the priest spoke up. He was wearing a black tunic similar to the men's, but was slightly longer in length.

"Good day to everyone. We are now gathered here today to bring a new couple in marriage. Now to start this special ceremony…will the fiancé's mother pass down her crown to her soon to be daughter in law."

Delia, behind Giovanni walked over to May and gave her a proud smile, before removing the crown from her head.

May took her cue to lower her head to allow Delia to promote her a queen.

…

As soon as that had been done…the priest spoke up. "Very good. Now that the crown has been placed down to the proper person we will now continue."

Taking another short pause, the priest spoke up. "Under the name of Arceus…I pray to you that you will watch over the new rulers. With one last request…I request of you to allow our kingdom to live in peace and harmony as we currently live today. Now…seeing as the ring has been exchanged, we shall now start the main event."

The man turned to Ash and eventually spoke. "…Ashton Ketchum…do you take Queen May Maple of the joined kingdoms as your lawfully wedded wife? To love and to cherish her from the moment of present all the way till your future? To live and to rule the kingdom with her alongside of you?"

Ash nodded with a smile evident on his face, a tear slowly dropping from his cheek onto the red carpet beneath him. "I do."

The priest nodded and turned to May before speaking. "Do you May Maple take King Ashton Ketchum of the joined kingdoms as your lawfully wedded husband? To love and to cherish him from the moment of the present all the way till your future? To live and to rule the kingdom with him alongside of you?

May's expression was almost identical to Ash's. A wide grin evident on her face as a tear left her eyelid. "…I do."

"Then I now pronounce you husband and wife…and the rulers of our joined kingdom. Ash…you may now kiss the bride."

Placing one hand on her cheek, Ash started to lean into May.

May, becoming impatient with the wait, gently nudged Ash's hand away and wrapped her arms around her new husband's neck kissing him with all the passion she could muster.

The Kanto King was shocked, needless to say, but closed his eyes and placed his hands on her hips, kissing her back, matching the same passion as she had put into their kiss.

With cheers and applause from all of the guests, the now married couple broke from their kiss.

"I love you May."

"I love you too Ash."

Lost into each other's eyes, Ash decided to break the trance between them.

Bending down, he placed one arm under May's legs and one supporting her back.

May squeaked in surprise at her sudden change of position but slowly wrapped her arms around her husband's neck.

Ash grinned and moved in to place a small, chaste kiss over May's lips, who, like always, kissed him back.

With Ash now carrying May bridal style, the two walked out of the church…leaving the applauses and cheers slowly fade into the distance.

**The End**

* * *

**Whoa whoa whoa wait right there! There's actually going to be one last chapter after this one, so make sure to check it out when it comes! **

**Btw…if you've played Batman Arkham City, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say Ash stunned him with his cape…since my fighting ideas were inspired by Batman Arkham City and a bit of Assassin's Creed.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Epilogue**

One year had passed and the joined kingdoms lived in peace and freedom ever since. They no longer needed to worry about wars or disagreements. And with the marriage of Ashton Ketchum and May Ketchum, the king and queen of Kanto, they've ruled the kingdoms like no other rulers ever had.

Many have even believed that Ash surpassed Giovanni's ability to rule a kingdom, but Ash was humble enough to decline the praise.

But Ash truly was an outstanding leader. He was now an 18 year old man with his same raven hair and passionate auburn eyes that never seemed to stop glistening in the sunlight.

He was now currently wearing a dark blue tunic made especially for a king. Similar to his Aura Guardian outfit, except much more elegant and superb. Something he had grown quite fond of wearing from the years.

And over the years, he had also become much more well toned. Ever since he became a king, he had spent a fair amount of his time exercising and of course...dueling others in combat.

…

His bow and arrow had been long gone, so the only weapon that he carried around was a new sword strapped to his hip. Once again, he had gotten rid of his previous sword and had replaced it with a much longer and sharper bladed sword gilded in real gold.

His wife May, also 18 years old was slightly taller than she used to be the past year, but she hadn't changed too much overall.

Right now, she was wearing a long, plain silk white sleeved dress as well as matching high heel shoes.

Over time, she had grown her hair out so it went just down to her lower back. Nonetheless, Ash thought she looked beautiful.

* * *

Today was just a normal day, but Ash decided to take a stroll around the kingdom with the accompany of his wife. His parents as well as most of his people were still asleep as it was early into the morning, around 8:00 a.m. to be exact.

Stopping at a local food stand, the two Kanto rulers grabbed a quick bite to eat before continuing their morning walk. Long before Charizard's death, the two hadn't been able to enjoy morning flies like they used to, but Ash was grateful he had the memory of having such experiences with his old friend. Boy would he miss him.

…

From the past hour, the couple took several turns around some corners and found themselves looking at a huddled crowd.

…

"Hmm…it seems like another competition is occurring at the moment."

May playfully rolled her eyes at him, knowing well enough what he was thinking.

"You want to compete don't you?"

He chuckled. "You know me far too well, honey."

In return May just smiled to her husband, before planting a soft kiss on his cheek. "Go ahead. I'll be watching you."

Impatiently, Ash dashed off to join the huddle crowd, which made May slightly giggle to herself. "Some things just never change."

…

Finally setting his eyes through a small gap in the crowd, Ash could see two knights dueling with one another. One he recognized as one of his good friends, Kenny, but the other he couldn't quite recognize.

Waiting patiently for the outcome of the match, he saw as Kenny was knocked to his feet, a bladed point of a sword pointed directly to his neck.

"Haha! That means another win to me! Now…is there anyone else willing to face me? The winner gets the prize and I'm not willing to give it up anytime soon! ...Well? Anyone?" The knight announced.

"I am."

The whole crowd shifted their eyes to the king, before they all slightly bowed in respect. Even the cocky knight seemed to slightly bow at his presence.

'Um…excuse me. But may I ask who you are first?" asked Ash.

The knight nodded, before removing his helmet. Underneath the metal mask was a 20 year old man, who had brown spiky hair and unrealistic slanted eyes, all combined with dark tanned skin covered with traditional knight's armor.

"The name's Brock Harrison. It's nice to see you, your Majesty," He said, sticking out a hand.

Ash took Brock's hand in his and shook it firmly. "Good to see you, Brock…but I don't seem to recognize you from anywhere. Have we met before?"

Brock shook his head. "We haven't, but you're the king of the kingdom, so I'm acquainted with who you are. But as to how you don't know me…well that would most likely be the reason since I live on the other side of the castle…but who really knows?"

Brock finished with a smirk. "Time for more important business…I heard you've challenged me to a fight, no?"

Ash grinned. "You know I never give up an offer to duel."

The tall dark skinned knight chuckled. "Well enough. Now let's get this started! I haven't had a good challenge in a while, much less duel a king!"

Right after, Brock brought up his sword in battle stance, waiting patiently for the king to ready himself.

Wasting no time as well, Ash walked over opposite to Brock, before unleashing his gilded sword, making the crowd awe at its shininess.

"That's a nice sword you got there your Majesty. Where did you purchase it?"

"EBay," The king replied sarcastically, earning several chuckles from the crowd.

"Hilarious. But your humor won't save you this duel!"

Lunging forward, Brock attempted a midsection strike to Ash's chest.

The king quickly brought up his sword to block, but it so happened the midsection strike was a fake hit, followed with a low leg sweep.

Ash was knocked off balance, but quickly brought himself back to his feet.

"Lucky hit," The raven haired boy said.

Brock smirked before lunging in once more with a high sword strike.

The king swiftly moved his body making the sword hit thin air. Followed up with the duck, Ash punched the back of Brock's head making him fall to his knees.

"Impressive," The knight muttered before he arose from the cobblestone ground.

Ash smirked as he was the one to charge this time.

In response, Brock attempted a back turning kick to hopefully knock Ash back a few steps, but to no avail.

The Kanto king dropped to the floor, before sweeping Brock off his feet making him fall straight on the ground.

The sudden impact caused the man to release his sword, and himself being pinned to the ground.

Ash released his leg lock on the knight before standing up, followed with Brock who picked up his sword and did the same.

Staring at each other, Ash was the first to break the silence. "Hey, Sir Brock? What exactly is the prize for winning this duel?"

"Something I've wanted my entire life! And I'm not willing to lose it!"

The boy winced from the tone Sir Brock was using, but gripped back onto his sword.

"Say, your Majesty? How about we switch things up here and do a fist fight instead? How's about it you guys?"

The huddled crowd cheered with such excitement, their blood thirsty attitude craving a good fight. Their cheers, however, could easily put the sound of an explosion to shame.

Ash grinned before turning to look back at the overconfident knight. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Why of course I am! I am a knight and I never flee a challenge. It's an act of chivalry!"

"Your mistake," Ash shrugged.

The two men set their swords aside, before getting back into their battle stances. Only this time, both men raised their fists in their own respective stances.

…

"Whenever you're ready."

Brock smirked. "Please your Majesty. You go ahead and make the first move."

"It's your funeral."

Ash started the hand to hand combat with a simple flying lunge kick.

Flying into the air, Ash kicked the knight straight in the chest knocking him back quite a distance, even putting Chuck Norris' skills to the test.

But just like that, the knight went flying at the impact from Ash's foot, causing many of the audience to back away to allow Brock to fly through.

Everyone began to turn their gazes at the fallen knight, who unsteadily brought himself back to his feet, puffing out his lungs for breath.

The raven haired boy smirked, before calling out to him. "If anytime you feel the need to quit, just say so, okay?"

Brock shook his head to regain some of his consciousness. "Nonsense! I'm just fine. Just getting warmed up!"

Walking back over to Ash, Brock brought his fists up in battle stance.

Ash did the same, only this time, waiting for Brock's attack.

The dark skinned knight hurriedly threw a quick jab to Ash's head and then another jab with his other hand.

In rapid succession, Ash blocked the two hits, before throwing one elbow at the knight's chest followed with a knee to his chest.

Brock winced from the pain, but did an uppercut attack, finally getting a hit on the bottom of Ash's jaw.

The powered hit caused the Kanto king to back away slightly, then spitting a small amount of blood on the floor. "Is that all you got?"

Brock snarled before running up to Ash with another enclosed fist.

As Brock neared and neared, Ash skillfully caught the knight's arm before turning his back to him and throwing his entire body over his shoulder. In conclusion it was basically an over the shoulder body throw. Ouch.

…

The impact of Brock's armor and the cobblestone floor made an audible _Kink _sound causing the man to groan in pain.

Pleased with the work he's done, Ash stepped over to Brock. "So…where's this prize you speak of?"

Brock weakly pointed to the direction of the prize before sobbing up in tears like a baby.

The Kanto king followed the direction to which Brock was pointing to and saw a woman dressed in a white dress and had pink, curled hair…a cardboard cutout of that woman to be more exact.

"A woman?" Ash muttered.

Brock nodded before returning to his weak sobs. "Don't you see it now? I was about to win her heart by winning this challenge, but seeing as how you won, it's you who gets to have her!"

Ash sweatdropped before opening his mouth to speak. "Um…Sir Brock? I apologize for bursting that growing bubble of yours, but this woman you speak of…is only a cardboard cutout…"

Brock then got up anime style, before rushing over to the cardboard woman, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Shut up! This woman and I will be getting married someday and we'll see who's laughing then!"

Ash once again sweatdropped before opening his mouth to talk. "Tell me when you have kids…" He said, sarcastically.

Too late, Sir Brock was already running off with the piece of cardboard tucked firmly underneath one arm and the other placed firmly on the top of the woman.

…

The Kanto King shook his head disapprovingly before feeling two arms slowly wrap around his chest.

Smiling, he turned his head to see his wife snuggling into him.

"Did you see me duel out there?"

May placed her head on top of Ash's shoulder, shutting her eyes at the comfort his body had to offer.

"Yes. You did awesome out there, sweety."

The two remained standing there, whilst the crowd suddenly began disappearing one by one. Being in utter silence, Ash decided it was the time to break it.

"…Hey May?"

"Yes Ash?"

He paused before asking the following question. "What would you do if I got married to a cardboard cutout?"

May's facial expression immediately turned into that of a confused one. "What?"

"Nah. I'm just joking May. I love you and you only."

May smiled. "I love you Ash."

"I love you too May Ketchum...angel of my life…"

The queen of the kingdom slightly blushed at his previous statement, before she had a question of her own.

"…Hey Ash?"

Ash looked back to see her face. His auburn eyes meeting her cerulean colored ones. "Yes?"

"When do you think we'll have kids of our own?"

Ash immediately turned red at this. Sure, it was childish of him to become embarrassed of starting a family with his wife, but what flushed him the most was rather…the process of making one.

"I-I don't know, why?"

"Cause I'll be waiting. That's whenever you're ready okay?" She said, sending the boy a wink.

Ash smiled. "I'm already looking forward to it," He finished before turning his head to plant a soft kiss on her forehead.

…

* * *

**I know! Pathetic way to end the story…but oh well….it is what it is right?**

**I hope you all enjoyed this fic because it was a hecka fun for me to write it!**

**Oh and what did you all think about the cardboard cutout? The woman was supposed to be Nurse Joy for those who didn't figure out. The reason I didn't make the epilogue showing Ash and May's kids was because I felt it was too...cliché. So instead, I just did a one year time travel and added a little humor :) I hope it was enough for your tastes. I mean come on, I even added Brock, the notorious ladies man. **

***STORY UPDATES* For now, I'm most likely going to be focusing on my other fic: "Ash and May's Adventures in Romance. So if you're an Ash/May fan (which I'm assuming you are for reading this fic) then I would totally recommend checking it out. It's a collection of one shots that I work on whenever I'm bored, so I promise it would be worth your time. **

**And please make a vote in my poll. I'm in desperate need for more votes, so just vote for what shipping you like and you can be on your way. Thanks!**

…**Now with one last A/N before I wrap this up…Read, Review, Follow, Favorite, and all that good stuff :) (Ah, my classic A/N for almost every chapter of every fic lol)**

**But anyway! All thoughts and comments from you will be appreciated! So without further a do, I guess I'll be seeing you all next time. Bye :)**


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